Israel-bound flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after brawl between pilots, Israeli official says

A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after an incident on board. Flydubai Flight FZ1073, a Boeing 737, transmitted emergency signals while over Jordanian airspace, indicating possible unlawful interference. According to an Israeli official, a fight broke out between the pilots.

The plane landed safely at Tabuk airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia. All passengers were reported safe and accounted for, according to the airline. Israeli media reported that the incident was not believed to be a hijacking.

The Israeli military had scrambled fighter jets initially due to fears of a possible hijacking, but this hypothesis was later dismissed, according to Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12. The Israeli Prime Minister's office said the premier was monitoring developments and that all measures were being deployed to return the passengers safely to Israel.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, IOL, The National UAE, Malay Mail, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.