Hijack alert on Israel-bound flight after brawl between pilots as passenger left ‘covered in blood’

There were reports of blood and a knife

Flight FZ1073 left Dubai for Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning carrying roughly 150 people. Partway through the journey, its crew transmitted code 7500, the signal that tells air traffic control a hijacking is under way. Israeli fighter jets scrambled, and Ben Gurion Airport suspended arrivals while officials tried to work out what was happening on board.

The aircraft never reached Israel. It changed course and landed in Saudi Arabia instead, where FlyDubai confirmed everyone on board was safe.

FlyDubai hijack alert traced to the flight deck, not an attack

Attention shifted quickly away from an outside threat. Israeli broadcasters said a physical fight between the plane's two pilots, not a hijacking, had triggered the alert. Officials ruled out a security incident once the crew could communicate properly.

Passengers described “screams and blood” as the emergency unfolded. Some suggested a pilot had been stabbed, though that claim remains unconfirmed, according to the Mirror. Others said the aircraft “dipped steeply” as it changed course, in accounts relayed to Israel's Channel 12.

Eyewitness reports said that a man took a knife, put the pilot on the floor, and that there was blood everywhere.

An image released by Israeli media has shown a passenger wearing a blood-soaked t-shirt.

Netanyahu convened security talks before the cause was clear

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister, Israel Katz, moved quickly into an emergency huddle as the flight diverted. That underlines how seriously officials treated the alert. The real cause, once confirmed, was a dispute among the crew — not an outside threat.

FlyDubai has not said what caused the reported fight between its pilots. Investigators will likely look into the cause once the plane and crew return to base.

What does the hijack code 7500 mean?

Code 7500 is the transponder signal a flight crew sends to alert controllers silently to a hijacking, without needing to speak over the radio and risk tipping off anyone controlling the cabin.

Where did the FlyDubai flight land instead of Tel Aviv?

Flight FZ1073 diverted to Saudi Arabia, landing safely with FlyDubai confirming all roughly 150 passengers and crew were unharmed.