Flydubai suspends Israel flights as Netanyahu cautions against assigning blame for cockpit incident

Flydubai has suspended flights to and from Israel while authorities investigate a September 30 incident aboard its Dubai–Tel Aviv flight FZ1073, which landed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was too early to determine whether Iran was involved. The pause affects passengers travelling on the route, but the airline has given no date for services to resume.

The suspension is a new development since NewsJaws’ earlier report on the diverted flydubai flight. Flydubai said it made the decision in coordination with relevant authorities and would review it as more information became available. It said it was working to support affected passengers and arrange alternatives where possible.

Why flydubai suspended its Israel flights

In its account of the September 30 flight, flydubai said an altercation occurred on the flight deck as FZ1073 travelled from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport. The airline said on-duty flydubai crew travelling on the aircraft secured it, diverted it and landed safely at Tabuk Airport. It said all passengers and crew were safe and accounted for.

Flydubai linked the route suspension to the continuing investigation. It said the temporary measure would allow authorities to establish the facts, and that it was coordinating with government authorities, regulators and airport stakeholders. The airline has not announced a timetable for the route’s return; its stated plan is to review the suspension when more information is available.

What Netanyahu said about the suspect and Iran

Netanyahu told Fox News that investigators would seek to establish whether the suspected attacker had accomplices, according to the Guardian. Asked about indications of Iranian involvement, he said it was ‘too early to say’. No such connection has been established in the accounts cited here.

In a separate interview with CBS News, Netanyahu said he did not think the incident was a hijacking. He offered a possible explanation for the suspect’s actions based on a passenger’s description of the cockpit, but also acknowledged that the motive was unknown. Those comments were his assessment, rather than a published finding from investigators.

Other Israeli officials have used firmer language. Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Fox News that Israel believed the incident was a terror attack by an individual. He also said Israel could not link it to a state or organisation. The Guardian reported that Israel’s foreign ministry described the incident to diplomats as an attempted terrorist attack against Israelis, the United Arab Emirates and the Abraham Accords. Those are government characterisations; the airline says the underlying reasons and motives remain under investigation.

What is established about flight FZ1073

CBS News reported, citing Israeli officials, that 174 people were aboard the flight. It said the co-pilot stabbed the captain, after which passengers and crew intervened and the aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Flydubai’s own statement describes an altercation on the flight deck and confirms the diversion, but does not give a detailed account of the violence inside the cockpit.

The Guardian identified the injured captain as Indian national Smit Machchhar and reported that he was being treated in Tabuk. It also reported passenger Yaniv Hayoun’s account, given in a video shared by Netanyahu’s office, that he restrained the attacker and pulled the aircraft controls before crew members took over. Flydubai attributes the securing and diversion of the aircraft to on-duty crew travelling on the flight.

CBS reported that most passengers later travelled to Ben Gurion Airport on a replacement flydubai aircraft. Flydubai said it had deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve passengers and crew. Its statement said everyone aboard the diverted flight was accounted for.

What investigators have yet to establish

Flydubai said the reasons and motives behind the incident were unknown and subject to a formal investigation. It urged people to avoid premature speculation while authorities gathered facts. Netanyahu’s caution about Iran and Danon’s inability to link the incident to a state or organisation leave responsibility beyond the alleged attacker unresolved in the public accounts.

The published airline statements also leave parts of the cockpit sequence unexplained. They identify an altercation and describe how the aircraft was secured and diverted, without specifying a weapon or explaining how one might have reached the flight deck. Passenger accounts provide further detail, but they are accounts of what witnesses say they experienced, not a complete investigative reconstruction.

For now, the practical consequence is the suspension of flydubai’s Israel services while the investigation continues. The airline says it will review that decision as more information emerges. Its statements give no resumption date, and the available public accounts do not establish a motive or any wider involvement.