Saudis said ‘no’ after Israel sought permission to pick up Israeli passengers following flydubai emergency: Sources
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Passengers at Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport after a flydubai aircraft bound for Israel was diverted there on Sept 30, due to a cockpit brawl in which the pilot was stabbed.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Saudi Arabia refused Israel's request to allow Israeli military planes to pick up passengers from a flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.
- The flydubai flight had an incident where the co-pilot stabbed the pilot and tried to crash the plane, but passengers restrained him and the plane landed safely.
- Israeli Air Force planned to send Super Hercules planes to retrieve passengers, who were to continue their journey on flydubai aircraft, despite no diplomatic ties between the countries.
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LONDON - Saudi Arabia turned down a request by Israel to allow its planes to bring back Israeli passengers from a flydubai flight that made an emergency landing in the kingdom, two security sources said on Sept 30.
The request was made to allow Israeli military planes to bring back Israelis from Saudi Arabia, which has no diplomatic relations with Israel, the sources said.
Saudi Arabia’s government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Israeli air force was preparing to send Super Hercules planes to pick up Israeli passengers, one of the sources said.
The passengers were set to continue their journey on flydubai aircraft, the airline said.
The co-pilot of a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv tried to crash the plane after stabbing the pilot, but passengers then held him down while other pilots landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sept 30.
US President Donald Trump has been pushing for Saudi Arabia to join the US-brokered Abraham Accords under which several Arab states established ties with Israel. The kingdom has long rejected joining the accords without a pathway towards Palestinian statehood.
A senior Saudi official on Sept 30 denied reports of a meeting between Saudi and Israeli officials, after Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had met Middle Eastern officials, including a Saudi official, during his recent visit to the United Arab Emirates. REUTERS
A screengrab taken from Flightradar24 showing the route of flydubai flight FZ1073.
PHOTO: REUTERS