A Flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing Wednesday at Tabuk Airport in Saudi Arabia after transmitting an emergency alert. The airline said the aircraft experienced an incident while en route and that all passengers were safe and accounted for.
Israeli media, citing security officials, reported that an altercation between the pilots prompted the alert. Flight-tracking data cited by the BBC showed the aircraft briefly used a code associated with a hijacking before returning to a general emergency signal. Israel scrambled warplanes amid initial concerns of a hijacking, several reports said. The Israeli prime minister’s office said the incident was not believed to be a hijacking.
Passenger totals varied: The Washington Post reported 180 passengers, while the BBC said there were about 150 people aboard. Flydubai said it would provide further details later.