Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv lands at Saudi airport, Hijacking ruled out

Israel has ruled out any threat after a Dubai-Tel Aviv flydubai flight (FZ1073) transmitted an emergency code signalling a possible hijacking on Wednesday. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, with around 180 passengers on board, declared an emergency and turned back over Saudi Arabia, prompting Israel to scramble two fighter jets. The aircraft later landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia.The incident that led the plane to issue an “unlawful interference” and another general emergency signal is apparently due to an altercation between the pilots aboard the flight, according to Israeli security sources. The plane was last seen on flight tracking sites near Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia. The flydubai flight initially sent a “squawk code” of 7700, an international emergency signal, according to flight tracking data. It then sent a 7500 code, meaning a hijacking or unlawful interference, a short time later.

#FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv squawking 7700 en route to Tel Aviv.https://t.co/BI5p7bTPrw pic.twitter.com/7fUP8XwwP3

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 30, 2026

As per reports, the flight was carrying a total of 180 passengers, including 27 children. Hebrew media outlet Ynet stated that airline confirmed the hijacking signal was triggered due to an altercation between the two pilots.