Flydubai Flight To Tel Aviv Declares Emergency And Diverts To Saudi Arabia

A Flydubai flight carrying about 180 passengers from Dubai to Tel Aviv declared an emergency Wednesday and diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. The alert briefly raised fears of a hijacking, prompting Israel to scramble fighter jets and senior officials to hold security consultations. Israeli officials later said a hijacking was not believed to have occurred; reports attributed the incident to a confrontation between the pilots, though the cause remained under investigation. Passengers were reported safe, and Israel said it was working to bring them home.