Second flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverts, heads back to Dubai
Flightradar24 tracked the reversal of flight FZ1081 hours after an earlier flydubai jet on the same route diverted to Saudi Arabia following a mid-air altercation between its pilots.
Published
A second flydubai flight on the Dubai to Tel Aviv route, FZ1081, has diverted and turned back toward Dubai, according to Flightradar24.
The reversal follows an earlier flydubai flight on the same route that diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a violent altercation between the two pilots triggered a hijacking distress signal and prompted Israel to scramble fighter jets, the Washington Post reported. Flydubai said the aircraft experienced an "incident" and landed safely at Tabuk airport in Saudi Arabia, Al Jazeera reported.
CNN reported that the plane descended 17,400 feet in under two minutes at around 1:20 a.m. ET before diverting, and that passengers told Israel's Channel 12 they heard shouting during the altercation. Israel Hayom identified the captain as Emirati and the co-pilot as Omani, and said Saudi authorities are interrogating the co-pilot as a suspect. CNN reported that Israeli officials believe the episode could have been an attempted terror attack.
Two flydubai diversions on the same route within a day point to a pattern rather than an isolated incident, adding to a risk premium building around Gulf airspace and shipping lanes near the Strait of Hormuz. Taken with a reported tanker incident off Dubai and broader signs of regional aviation disruption, the run of events keeps geopolitical risk in focus for markets even though it does little on its own to change crude supply fundamentals. Oil has room to react more sharply if further diversions lead to wider airspace restrictions, but as a standalone event this is a modest bearish nudge for crude rather than a supply shock.