Passengers of the Flydubai flight arrive in Tel Aviv and Netanyahu meets them at the airport

Passengers of the Flydubai flight arrive in Tel Aviv and Netanyahu meets them at the airport

Published 30 September 2026, 06:52 GMT

Last updated 41 minutes ago

Reading time: 4 minutes

The passengers of the Flydubai flight that was diverted to Saudi Arabia arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening, where they were met by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hours after an incident inside the cockpit during which Netanyahu said that one of the pilots stabbed his colleague and tried to shoot down the plane.

Pictures from Agence France-Presse TV showed another Flydubai plane carrying passengers landing at Tel Aviv Airport, hours after their original flight was diverted to the Saudi city of Tabuk.

A spokesman for Netanyahu said that the Israeli Prime Minister met the passengers at the airport after their arrival.

The BBC was at Ben Gurion Airport shortly before the flight arrived, as more family members of the passengers began arriving at Terminal 1, with the confirmation of the plane’s departure from Saudi Arabia.

The BBC monitored that the state of anxiety that had prevailed during the previous hours began to subside after about nine hours of waiting, while several ambulances were stationed at the place as a precautionary measure and about twenty Israeli and international media crews gathered.

Netanyahu: One of the pilots tried to shoot down the plane

Netanyahu said in a video message that one of the pilots stabbed the other pilot during the flight, while the plane was approaching Israel, and apparently tried to shoot it down with its passengers.

He added that he spoke to an Israeli passenger who entered the cockpit when the plane began to descend and clashed with the pilot, who he said was trying to shoot it down.

Netanyahu also praised the passengers who intervened, saying they prevented a major disaster.

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He said that the pilot who was suspected of stabbing his colleague “is being interrogated by the Saudi authorities,” adding that he had instructed the security services to prepare for the possibility of other threats.

A spokesman for his office said that Netanyahu also ordered tighter security measures on Israeli and non-Israeli airlines following the incident.

Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz described the incident as an attempt to carry out a “jihadist terrorist” attack, but did not specify the source of his information regarding the motive.

Emergency landing in Tabuk

The company operating Tabuk Airport said that the flight was diverted to the city at 9:45 am local time, 06:45 GMT, and that the plane’s captain and his co-pilot were found injured and taken to the hospital.

Flydubai said that all passengers are fine, adding that the causes of the altercation that occurred on board the flight are still unknown.

According to media reports, 166 of the 174 passengers on board the plane were Israeli.

The company later said that another Flydubai crew was on board the flight while performing its duties, and diverted the plane and landed it safely.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent in Tabuk said that he saw a heavy security deployment near the airport, with several police vehicles and an ambulance in front of the passenger building.

The plane lost 17,000 feet within a minute

Passengers said that there was a struggle to control the plane after it made a sudden landing.

According to data from the Flight Radar 24 website, the plane lost about 17,000 feet of altitude within about one minute.

An Italian passenger described the sudden landing as being like severe turbulence, even though there were no turbulence, and likened it to riding a roller coaster.

He said that there was no panic among the passengers despite the outbreak of a fight near the cockpit, adding that passengers in the front of the plane were able to control the situation.

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Passenger: The co-pilot tried to kill the captain

One of the passengers said that the plane was almost out of control after one of the pilots tried to stab the other while flying over Jordan.

She added that the co-pilot tried to kill the pilot and bring it down, according to her account to journalists.

She said that a number of people were able to control and neutralize the co-pilot, while a doctor on board provided first aid.

She added that there were no other injuries except for the pilot, and that the greatest fear was that the plane would crash.

Fears of kidnapping

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation "Kan" and Channel 12 reported that the Israeli army sent fighter jets into the air after fears that the plane might be subjected to a hijacking.

In a video clip from inside the plane, which Israeli users reposted on social media, a passenger appeared with blood pouring from a wound in his head as he called for help and said that the plane was landing in Saudi Arabia.