Flydubai temporarily suspended its flights to Israel following the attack

TEL AVIV.- The airline Flydubai decided to suspend all its flights to Israel after a pilot attempted to crash a plane traveling to Tel Aviv, while a hijacking attempt is being investigated, according to the local outlet The Times of Israel. The company reported that the measure was taken to ensure the "safety and well-being" of passengers and crew, and apologized. "The safety and well-being of our passengers, crew, and operations remain our top priority. This temporary suspension will allow the relevant authorities to continue their work and clarify all the facts related to the incident," said the airline's spokesperson. In addition, Flydubai apologized to passengers whose travel plans were affected and committed to working to "provide assistance and alternatives whenever possible." The airline, along with Etihad Airways, is among the most in demand by Israeli citizens. Passengers from the flight were received in Israel Jamal Awad - dpa DPA Hours before the announcement, Israel's Transportation Minister, Miri Regev, had demanded the suspension of all Flydubai flights to Israel after the incident. She also asked the Civil Aviation Authority to investigate whether the United Arab Emirates violated its aviation agreement with her country, which stipulates that only pilots with passports from countries that have diplomatic relations with Israel may land there. In contrast, Amir Hayek, former ambassador of Jerusalem to the United Arab Emirates, warned against "rushing" to blame the airline for Wednesday's episode. "Flydubai and Etihad are the only two airlines in the world that continued flying to Israel even during the most difficult moments," said Amir Hayek on his social media. He then added: "The United Arab Emirates and the airline deserve that we set aside speculation and allow them to thoroughly investigate what really happened. I trust them." Netanyahu described the episode as a terrorist attempt ALEXI J. ROSENFELD - GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA Months ago, Flydubai temporarily suspended its flights to Israel due to the high tensions in the Middle East following the intervention of the United States. On that occasion, the measure was in effect from March 15 to April 30. What happened on the flight As reported by LA NACION, a Flydubai flight with about 180 passengers, mostly Israelis, lost thousands of meters of altitude and even briefly went into a dive, after one of the pilots apparently attempted to crash the plane, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Passengers and crew members managed to subdue the pilot identified as the aggressor before the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. It was flight FZ1073, which had taken off from Dubai bound for Tel Aviv, and was flying at about 34,000 feet when a sharp descent began near the border between Saudi Arabia and Jordan. In less than two minutes it lost approximately half of its altitude and then went through several minutes of erratic flight before stabilizing, according to public air tracking data. Netanyahu said that the man identified as the attacker had been detained and was being interrogated by Saudi authorities. Tabuk airport officials reported, for their part, that both the pilot and the copilot were hospitalized after suffering injuries. "One of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the plane with all its passengers on board," said the Israeli prime minister in a recorded message, adding that he spoke with a passenger who, along with a crew member, managed to enter the cockpit and subdue the pilot while he was attempting to sabotage the aircraft's systems. Israel