An initial review of Gulf media reactions to the crisis aboard a flydubai flight that rapidly lost altitude and then landed in Saudi Arabia shows most media are taking a cautious approach to reporting the details.
While Israeli officials increasingly view the incident as an attempted hijacking and a disaster that was narrowly avoided by heroes on the plane, many reports in the Gulf appeared wary of reporting details at this point.
Hours after the incident unfolded, and after video showed bloodied passengers and crew, Al-Arabiya noted in the late afternoon that “a flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after an altercation occurred in the cockpit, the airline says.”
The report noted that “Flight FZ1073, which was traveling from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport, was secured by off-duty flydubai crew members who were traveling on board, according to the airline.”
Relying on the airline, the report said the crew diverted the aircraft and landed it in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. “All passengers and crew members were safe and accounted for, flydubai said…The airline said the reasons and motives behind the incident remained unknown at this early stage and would be subject to a formal investigation.”
Damage done to rudder of flydubai flight after suspected attempted hijacking, September 30, 2026. (credit: COURTESY)
Gulf media sources did not report the incident hours after it occurred
A further look at Gulf media revealed that some media outlets did not even report the incident, despite many hours having passed.
Other media provided only basic details. The National in the UAE, for instance, noted that “flydubai pilots taken to hospital after stabbing on Tel Aviv flight.
Saudi authorities say all passengers safe and accounted for after emergency landing in the kingdom. Video: Hijacking ruled out as flydubai flight lands safely in Saudi Arabia.” Gulf News in the UAE had not reported on the incident by 17:35 UAE time. Al-Ain media had also not covered it by the same time.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had more coverage. Arab News noted, “Flydubai passenger jet pilots in bloody mid-air fight, Israeli media reports. Plane landed safely at Tabuk airport, all passengers are accounted for, the airline says. An Israeli official says pilots sent emergency signals after a physical altercation. Mystery surrounded the forced landing in Saudi Arabia of a flydubai flight traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, as conflicting accounts of the incident raised fears of a possible hijacking.”
Gulf media cautious, considers news from Israel unreliable
As noted above, Al-Arabiya had covered it. It also included an interview with a passenger where the passenger had said the co-pilot had stabbed the pilot. “The co-pilot stabbed the pilot and tried to bring the plane down.”
In Bahrain, the Daily Tribune had no articles on the story by 16:38 Bahrain time, which is 17:38 in the UAE. In Oman, the Muscat Daily also had no coverage at that time. Similarly, the media site Al-Jarida had no coverage by that time.
The difference in coverage between Israel and the Gulf was clear. Gulf media was more cautious. This is not entirely surprising. The Gulf prefers caution. Many media also prefer official statements. There was a statement from flydubai by the late afternoon. However, in the absence of other statements, many were reluctant to report further.
Well-known professor and author Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, who has a large following on X/Twitter, noted that “Israeli sources regarding the flydubai flight are not credible and are seeking to achieve a media scoop at the expense of reliability. Awaiting clarification from the Dubai Media Office.”