Passenger flight ‘hijacking’ as Israel scrambles fighter jets after alert issued
A passenger plane carrying 150 people from Dubai to Israel issued an emergency code for a possible hijacking on Wednesday, with the aircraft being forced to land elsewhere
A passenger flight flying from Dubai to Israel issued an emergency code for a possible hijacking, with Israeli fighter jets scrambled.
The FlyDubai flight FZ1073 issued the code 7500 alert. The plane had roughly 150 people on board. The plane reportedly headed in the direction of Saudi Arabia but it’s not seen on flight tracking radar.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz are said to be holding an urgent security consultation following the incident. There has still been no confirmation that a hijacking actually took place. However, flight-tracking data reportedly showed the Boeing 737 MAX 8 initially transmitting code 7700, which signals a general emergency, before briefly switching to 7500, the code associated with possible hijacking.
The plane has reportedly landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The aircraft switched back to 7700 and was tracked descending near Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. The reason for the emergency remains unclear.
The Times of Israel reported that the FlyDubai flight turned around over Saudi Arabia after issuing an emergency signal. Flight-tracking data noted the aircraft transmitting 7700, the international code for a general emergency.
Israeli journalist Hillel Biton Rosen reported that an altercation between the pilots may have been behind the emergency onboard FlyDubai flight FZ1073.
On Telegram a reporter said the incident was ‘apparently’ linked to a fight between the pilots(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
On Telegram he said the incident was “apparently” linked to a fight between the pilots.
There has not yet been official confirmation of what happened but the plane has reportedly landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport, near Tabuk in northern Saudi Arabia.
Authorities were expected to work on returning the aircraft to Israel. FlyDubai flight FZ1073 was not allowed to enter Israeli airspace after the emergency codes were activated, according to journalist Michael A. Horowitz.
Writing on X, Horowitz said an investigation was underway to establish whether the codes may have been triggered by human error.
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