Saudi Arabia Refuses Israeli Rescue Offer for Dubai Flight Emergency Landing

A Flydubai flight en route to Israel made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after experiencing a critical incident, with reports suggesting a potential suicide attempt by one of the pilots. The Israeli Air Force and El Al airline offered to rescue the passengers using a Hercules transport plane, but Saudi Arabia denied this request. Instead, another Flydubai flight that had also landed in Saudi Arabia was used to transport the Israeli passengers back to Israel, and they have begun boarding.

Following the incident, El Al announced it would establish a dedicated WhatsApp hotline for Israelis abroad seeking to return to Israel, even if they did not initially fly with El Al. The airline is also preparing to send a special aircraft from Bangkok to Israel in the coming days to assist Israelis in Thailand. Meanwhile, Israel's Ministry of Transport is investigating whether Flydubai violated an agreement regarding the Omani-national pilot's eligibility to fly to Israel. The Minister of Transport is reportedly demanding a freeze on Flydubai flights until the investigation concludes and is advocating for Israeli airlines to operate the route instead.

Israel's Ben Gurion Airport has opened a waiting area at Terminal 1 for families of the passengers, providing information and assistance. Passengers on the flight described a terrifying experience, with one reporting seeing blood and believing they might not survive. The aircraft initially transmitted an emergency code (7700) indicating a general emergency, then a code (7500) for unlawful interference, before diverting to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where it again transmitted the 7700 code.