Flydubai Replacement Plane Lands in Saudi Arabia to Repatriate Israelis

A replacement Flydubai aircraft landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia to bring Israeli passengers back to Israel. The Israelis had been stranded at the Saudi airport for hours. Hebrew media sources reported that Saudi authorities had not granted permission for Israeli aircraft to land on their territory to evacuate the passengers.

In response, Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev requested a suspension of all Flydubai flights to Israel. She made the request during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and representatives from the military and security agencies. Separately, Israel is investigating whether Flydubai violated an agreement by allowing an Omani co-pilot to be part of the crew on a flight bound for Ben Gurion Airport.

Flydubai confirmed that flight FZ 1073, en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, experienced an "incident in flight" without providing further details. The airline stated that the aircraft landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and all passengers are safe. The company added that it would provide further updates as confirmed details become available. All information is currently considered preliminary and unconfirmed by the airline or investigative authorities, with investigations ongoing.