Australian couple among passengers on diverted flydubai flight to Israel, embassy says

The Israeli embassy has confirmed that a Sydney couple were among the passengers on a flydubai flight that was diverted to Israel after a pilot allegedly stabbed the other. The passengers, a Jewish couple from Sydney, were onboard the flight from the United Arab Emirates to Israel when the incident occurred. The flydubai aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

The plane plunged approximately 17,000 feet in just two minutes during the alleged attack. Passenger Yaniv Hayoun recounted how he and other passengers heard screaming and felt pressure as the plane dived before forcibly entering the cockpit and discovering the attacker at the instrument panel. Hayoun managed to subdue the attacker by placing him in a chokehold and dragging him out of the cockpit.

Israeli Ambassador to Australia, Hillel Newman, described the incident as a unique event and praised the bravery of the passengers who overcame the attacker. He also noted that the attack serves as a reminder of the threats Israel faces and the significance of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between the UAE and Israel in 2020.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that it is too early to determine who was responsible for the incident. There are approximately 12,000 Australian citizens residing in Israel and 25,000 in the UAE.