Flydubai temporarily suspends its flights to Tel Aviv after diverting flight FZ1073 to Tabuk

Flydubai announced the temporary suspension of its flights to Tel Aviv until further notice, at the request of the competent authorities, following the security incident witnessed by flight FZ1073 heading from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which led to its diversion and landing at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia on September 30 last year.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of Flydubai, said that all 172 passengers on the flight, along with the crew members, are fine, noting that the plane’s captain returned to the UAE after receiving the necessary medical evaluation.

He added that the carrier continues to provide support to those affected by the incident, while its teams are working around the clock to help passengers reach their final destinations after flights to Tel Aviv were suspended.

In a statement sent to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Ghaith praised the captain who took command of the plane, and the pilots on duty who worked to secure it and land it safely, in addition to the flight crew members, expressing his appreciation to the passengers who helped the crew while dealing with the situation.

The CEO of Flydubai also thanked the competent authorities in Saudi Arabia for their “quick and professional response in these exceptional circumstances,” and to the authorities and relevant authorities in the Emirates for their support of passengers and crew members during their return to the country.

Regarding the circumstances of the incident, Al Ghaith confirmed that an official investigation is being conducted by the competent authorities, with the full support of Flydubai, calling for allowing room for investigation to determine the facts related to what happened on board the flight.

“I know there are many questions about what happened on board Flight FZ1073,” he said, adding that it was important to let the official investigation take its course to establish the facts.

Al Ghaith stressed that the company is grateful for the safety of all those on board the flight, and for the support it received from its customers, employees and partners in the sector, stressing that “safety will always remain our highest priority.”

The royal speech delivered by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, on Wednesday, in the Shura Council, included a number of messages related to Saudi Arabia’s position in dealing with regional crises.

These messages carried, according to analysts, an emphasis on supporting stability and political solutions, and protecting sovereignty and interests, in parallel with the continued implementation of the accelerated economic reforms formulated by the “Saudi Vision 2030” programs.

During the speech, the Saudi Crown Prince stressed that his country is working to strengthen international cooperation, reduce escalation, and defuse tensions, stressing that it will not hesitate to respond firmly to any threat or attack aimed at harming it, explaining that his country supports the Yemeni government through the “Coalition to Support Legitimacy,” “to extend its authority over the entire country, restore stability, and confront the attacks of the terrorist Houthi militias, which have chosen chaos and devastation, and threaten the Yemeni people and the region.” A path for her.”

Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s speech stated that the attacks that targeted all Gulf states confirm that their security and stability are an indivisible whole, adding: “We work with our brothers to maintain Gulf security and strive for strategic cooperation and economic integration,” stressing that Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the rights of the Palestinian people is a firm position and a continuous effort that will not stop until the Palestinian people obtain their legitimate rights.

6 main points

Political analyst Munif Al-Harbi believes that the royal speech included 6 main points, foremost of which is the emphasis on supporting Yemeni legitimacy to extend its authority over the entire Yemeni territory, considering that this indicates that reaching a political solution requires “effective change on the ground in the interest of Yemeni legitimacy.”

“Mecca Pact”

Al-Harbi referred to what he described as “clear Saudi satisfaction” with the Turkish and Pakistani roles in the Mecca Agreement, which he said the Crown Prince called the “Mecca Pact,” in addition to emphasizing the importance of the multinational maritime defense alliance, freedom of maritime navigation, and the responsibility of the international community in this file.

“The Palestinian issue is among the priorities of Saudi foreign policy.”

The presence of the Palestinian issue in the speech, despite successive regional crises, reflects its continuation among the priorities of Saudi foreign policy, according to Al-Harbi, who said that this represented an affirmation that peace in the Middle East is conditional on the establishment of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Regarding internal affairs, Al-Harbi pointed out that the speech linked dealing with political and security conditions and continuing the implementation of “Saudi Vision 2030,” referring to what the Crown Prince stated regarding the vision’s programs achieving 93 percent of their goals, and continuing to focus on development, the nation’s elevation, prosperity, and quality of life.

A message about “Saudi human and military capabilities”

Al-Harbi added that the speech carried a message related to Saudi human and military capabilities and its ability to deal with threats, in addition to what he described as the “qualitative deterrence capability” that allows the Kingdom to deal with challenges and turn them into opportunities.

For his part, political researcher Faisal Al-Shammari considered that the speech reflected Saudi Arabia’s move “from the position of a confident country that knows its interests and deals with the region’s issues with the logic of stability and responsible power.”

Al-Shammari said that the political aspect of the speech focused on the interconnectedness of Gulf security, and not dealing with regional challenges as separate files, but rather within a single system that reflects the security and stability of the region.

He added that the speech showed, in its reading, a balance between supporting diplomatic solutions and reducing escalation on the one hand, and emphasizing the protection of sovereignty and national interests on the other hand.

“Do not leave a strategic vacuum.”

Al-Shammari pointed out that the positions related to the Palestinian issue, the security of the Red Sea and the Gulf, and the stability of Yemen reflected the continuation of the constants of Saudi policy towards these files, considering that the general message of the speech is that the Kingdom does not seek escalation, but at the same time it does not leave what he described as a “strategic vacuum” in its surroundings.

As for the researcher specializing in international affairs, Ahmed Al-Ibrahim, he considered that the speech reflects the continued Saudi policy of combining diplomatic action with maintaining the ability to protect national interests, while emphasizing that the stability of the region is linked to supporting state institutions and preventing crises from turning into extended sources of threat.

Al-Ibrahim continued that the link between regional developments and the continued implementation of “Vision 2030” indicates that Riyadh views development as a strategic path that does not stop with crises, while in the regional files, from his point of view, the issues of Yemen, navigation security, and the Palestinian issue emerge within a context that emphasizes the importance of political solutions, in parallel with the Kingdom’s readiness to deal with threats that affect its security and the stability of the region.