A Flydubai passenger flight travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after a fight broke out between the two pilots on board, Israeli officials told local media.

Flight FZ1073, carrying around 150 people, most of them Israeli nationals, departed Dubai International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning. It was due to land at Ben-Gurion Airport but instead made an emergency landing at Tabuk Airport in northeastern Saudi Arabia.

The aircraft transmitted an emergency signal approximately two hours into the flight. According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, the plane briefly switched to a code used to indicate a hijacking before reverting to a general emergency signal.

The Israeli prime minister's office said the incident was not believed to have been a hijacking. Israeli defence officials, cited by local media, said the emergency signal was thought to have been triggered by an altercation between the pilot and co-pilot.

Flightradar24 data showed a rapid descent over Saudi Arabia, with the aircraft losing more than 17,000 feet — over 5,000 metres — in less than two minutes, just after 05:21 UTC. At 05:40, the flight briefly entered Jordanian airspace before looping back into Saudi Arabia, where it then began its final descent for landing.

Passengers told local media they feared for their lives as the plane began to drop during the incident.

The Israeli Air Force dispatched fighter jets in response, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held urgent consultations on the matter. Israeli Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir also convened an assessment with senior officers following the incident.

A Flydubai spokesperson confirmed the flight "experienced an incident while en route" and said the airline's teams were "working closely with the relevant authorities." The airline confirmed that all passengers were safe and accounted for, adding that further details would be shared as they became available.