Flydubai plane traveling to Israel diverted to Saudi Arabia after alleged dispute between pilots

FlyDubai flight FZ1073 transmitted an emergency alert shortly after take-off, according to publicly available flight tracking information.

A commercial plane traveling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel was forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, briefly raising concerns about a possible hijacking and prompting Israel to scramble warplanes.

Israeli media, citing security officials, said the incident stemmed from a feud between the plane’s two pilots and everyone on board was safe.

The plane landed in Tabuk, a civilian and military base in the kingdom.

The FlyDubai plane transmitted an emergency alert shortly after take-off, according to publicly available flight tracking information.

A regional official briefed on the incident said a fight broke out in the cockpit and apparently involved pilots. It wasn’t immediately clear what had caused the fight, the official said.

A second official confirmed that Israel had scrambled warplanes, fearing a hijacking of a plane carrying dozens of its citizens.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned in recent days of unspecified, escalated security threats.

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