A flydubai Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft prepares for landing at ‘Israel's’ Ben Gurion Airport in Lod.
‘Israel’ says flydubai incident was attack on Abraham Accords with UAE
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‘Israel's’ Foreign Ministry told its diplomats on Wednesday that an incident on a flight from the UAE to Tel Aviv that forced an emergency landing was an attack aimed at undermining ties between the two.
The ministry's director general, Eden Bar Tal, briefed "all Israeli ambassadors and heads of representations around the world (during which) the message was emphasised that this was an attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates, and the Abraham Accords," a ministry statement read, referring to the normalisation deal the two countries signed in 2020.
The incident involved flydubai flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
The aircraft diverted to Tabuk in northwestern Saudi Arabia after an altercation in the cockpit.
Flydubai said all passengers were safe and accounted for.
According to ‘Israeli’ officials, the co-pilot stabbed the captain and attempted to crash the aircraft.
The aircraft subsequently lost nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the situation was brought under control.
Passengers and crew intervened, while a reserve flydubai crew aboard the aircraft took control and landed the plane safely in Tabuk.
The motive behind the incident has not been conclusively established.
Flydubai said an altercation occurred in the flight deck and that the aircraft was secured by crew members traveling on board.
Saudi authorities said both pilots were hospitalized after sustaining injuries.
The incident initially raised concerns about a possible hijacking.
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft transmitting a general emergency signal before briefly transmitting the 7500 code used to indicate unlawful interference, before returning to the general emergency signal.
The UAE and ‘Israel’ established diplomatic relations on September 15, 2020, under the Abraham Accords.
Flydubai launched its first scheduled commercial flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv in November 2020, shortly after the normalization agreement.
The route subsequently became part of the air links between the UAE and ‘Israel’.
Flydubai later announced that it was suspending flights to and from ‘Israel’ while authorities investigate the incident.
