Flydubai has announced that it is suspending all flights to Israel until further notice following an incident that forced one of its aircraft to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported early Thursday, October 1, that passengers on the aircraft that landed at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia were transferred to Israel.
According to the report, Flydubai said it would not operate flights to Israel until the incident had been investigated.
Although Flydubai said the cause of the incident and the aircraft’s emergency landing in Saudi Arabia remained unclear, several reports have alleged that one of the pilots attempted to hijack the aircraft.
Meanwhile, statements from passengers on the flight also supported accounts of a confrontation involving one of the pilots and indicated that the pilot was restrained with the help of passengers.
However, the identity of the pilot who resisted his colleague has been reported as Smith Machear, an Indian national. No information has been provided about the alleged attacker or his motive for the incident.
