Concerns regarding a possible airplane hijacking briefly gripped Israel as a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. A video shared by Hebrew-language media from the flight has now emerged online. It showed moments after the aircraft made its landing at Tabuk airport.
In the video, passengers are heard singing, clapping and praising as the plane touched down. The Hebrew song “Od Avinu Chai”, translating to “Our Father Still Lives”, was heard in the video. At the same time, some passengers were also seen recording the moment on their mobile phones.
Watch video:
Live Mint couldn’t independently verify the claims.
The FlyDubai flight FZ 1073, bound for ‘s Ben Gurion Airport from Dubai, executed an emergency diversion to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, following a mid-flight “incident”, as per the airline.
Officials confirmed that the aircraft landed without issue at the dual-use facility. The flight was scheduled to fly from Dubai International Airport in the to Ben Gurion Airport in Israel before the diversion.
All passengers were reported to be safe as per the spokesperson for the low-cost carrier in a statement quoted by AFP.
According to Israeli media, a fight had broken out between the pilots who were operating the aircraft. Reportedly, the incident caused a distress signal to be activated.
The flight sent a general emergency code, known as 7700, before switching to a 7500 code which signifies unlawful interference, suggesting a possible hijacking incident. The aircraft then switched back to 7700, the service said as reported by Bloomberg.
Israel’s Kan public broadcaster and Channel 12 reported that the Israeli military had scrambled fighter jets amid fears of a possible hijacking. However, the hypothesis which was later dismissed.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister said the premier had held consultations on the matter and was “monitoring developments”.
“The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” a statement said, reported AFP.
Israeli Transportation Minister Miriam Regev reportedly held a situation assessment with all relevant parties involved. The incident was said to be closely being monitored by the authorities.
Tabuk is located in northwestern Saudi Arabia, close to the Jordan–Saudi Arabia border.
Meanwhile, Flydubai is said to be working closely with the authorities to consider the next steps into the matter.
