AMMAN: An Israeli passenger on the FlyDubai jet forced to make an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia spoke of his gratitude to the Kingdom and its people on Wednesday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one of the pilots on the flight from the UAE to Israel stabbed his co-pilot and attempted to crash the passenger jet carrying 174 people, 166 of whom were Israeli.
The traumatized passengers finally arrived at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv later, and after their plane had made a dramatic diversion to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northern Saudi Arabia.
Videos showed Israeli passengers receiving care from Saudi medics and airport staff after they safely touched down in Tabuk.
Almog Italie, owner of a digital marketing company, told Arab News after landing at Ben Gurion that Saudi Arabia “took care of us, and it was the best hospitality I ever experienced.”
He asked Arab News to send his warm regards to the people of Saudi Arabia for the way he and all other passengers were treated.
“I look forward to returning, and hopefully there will be peace,” he said.
Like many Arab countries, Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. The Kingdom has said normalization would only come following an irreversible path toward establishing a Palestinian state.
Other videos on Israeli media showed Saudi medical personnel checking the blood pressure of Israeli passengers.
One of the videos posted on Instagram by Channel 12 was captioned “Footage from Saudi Arabia: Israeli passengers receiving care at the airport.”
Noa Shpigel, a reporter for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said her mother was on board the aircraft and had landed back in Israel.
“My mom just arrived. She is safe, and she is with us,” she said.
Her mother, Dalia Shpigel, 74, was on her way back from a holiday in Nepal via a transfer in Dubai.
The elder Shpigel told Arab News that the passengers received very good treatment. "We got food, and the Saudis were very nice," she said.
She said she was grateful that Arab News asked about her, and she wanted to thank the Saudi people for their hospitality.
Most of the passengers arriving at Ben Gurion Airport were not willing to speak to the media.
Some were met by Netanyahu, who earlier posted a video giving details of the attack and how the plane’s crew and passengers had prevented the aircraft from crashing.
Videos showed passengers and crew giving medical aid to two injured pilots lying on the floor of the aircraft.
After several hours in Tabuk, the Israeli passengers returned home on a replacement aircraft.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday morning near the Jordanian border, more than two hours after the plane had taken off from Dubai.
The plane went into a steep dive and issued emergency alerts before finally landing in Tabuk after a reserve FlyDubai crew, on board the aircraft, took control.
Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport said the captain and first officer were immediately transferred to hospital.
“Passengers were provided with the necessary assistance at the terminal,” the airport said, adding that it was committed to adhering to international conventions and treaties concerning the safety of civil air navigation, passengers, and crew.