Flydubai confirms an "altercation in the cabin" on the flight diverted to Saudi Arabia

The Emirati airline Flydubai confirmed this Wednesday that "an altercation occurred in the cockpit" of the plane flying from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Israel, which had to be diverted to Saudi Arabia for an emergency landing. The airline also insisted that investigations are ongoing to clarify what happened, and therefore asked that no one speculate about the origin of the incident. "On September 30, an altercation occurred in the cockpit of flight FZ1073, which was operating the route from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV)," a company spokesperson told Europa Press. He also noted that the situation "was successfully controlled by members of the crew" of the airline itself, as had been reported in recent hours, and explained that these crew members "diverted the plane and landed it safely at the Saudi airport of Tabuk." In that regard, he clarified that two planes were sent to Tabuk, a city in northwestern Saudi Arabia, "to transfer the passengers and crew" to Tel Aviv. "This incident does not affect other scheduled operations on the Flydubai network," the spokesperson added. Airline suspends its flights to and from Israel Hours later, the airline announced the suspension of all its flights with Israel as origin or destination "while the investigation continues," while insisting that this is a "temporary" measure that will allow the authorities to work and "clarify" the circumstances of the event. "We are fully committed to supporting the ongoing investigation and to maintaining the highest safety standards across our network. We remain in close coordination with government authorities, regulators, and airport stakeholders, and we will review the suspension as more information becomes available," he added. He then extended apologies to passengers affected by the suspension and assured that they will be provided with alternative flights "wherever possible." Does not detail the origin of the incident and asks that no one speculate In his statement this Wednesday, the Flydubai spokesperson also said that "at this initial stage, the causes and underlying motives of this event are unknown and are the subject of a formal investigation." "We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while the authorities gather the facts," he requested, assuring that the airline's priority is "to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of all affected passengers and crew members." From Israel, criticism of what happened was not long in coming, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself calling it a "serious security incident," while noting that almost all the passengers are of Israeli nationality. WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE INCIDENT ON BOARD THE DUBAI-TEL AVIV FLIGHT Israel is treating the incident on the flydubai flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv as a "terror incident." According to Israeli officials, shortly after entering Jordanian airspace, the Omani co-pilot… pic.twitter.com/0MQPc5SoeG — Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) September 30, 2026 The circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated, although statements from several passengers cited by Israeli media suggest that several of them intervened in response to an alleged attempt by one of the pilots to seize control of the aircraft and crash it, which led to a fight. One of them reported having heard "terrible screams throughout the plane" before "between three and five men burst into the cockpit" and subdued the attacker. Another passenger said that "we took control of the flight" from "an assailant with a knife"; meanwhile, according to reports, two other off-duty pilots, who were seated at the rear of the aircraft, took position in the cockpit to land the plane. The alerts were triggered this morning after an alarm signal was emitted from the cockpit of the aircraft over Jordanian airspace. Likewise, the warning was accompanied by a loss of altitude and a sudden acceleration, after which Israel sent planes toward the area out of fears of a hijacking because they were unable to contact the plane, which finally managed to land. Netanyahu calls the attacked pilot a "hero" Netanyahu also referred this afternoon to the pilot attacked in mid-flight, who was identified as Captain Smit Machchhar, of Indian nationality, calling him a "true hero" of "extraordinary courage." "Despite having been stabbed and seriously injured, he defended himself, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and allowed the passengers and crew to subdue the attacker, thus preventing a catastrophic disaster in mid-flight," the Israeli prime minister wrote on X. My salute to the Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his extraordinary bravery. Despite being stabbed and seriously injured, he fought back, resisted, opened the cockpit door, and enabled passengers and crew to overpower the attacker — preventing a catastrophic mid-air… — Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) September 30, 2026 For his part, the speaker of the Israeli Parliament, Amir Ohana, stated on social media that "today, our hearts are with him and his family." Machchhar's name was also confirmed by media outlets in India, as reported by the BBC.