A Flydubai Co-Pilot Attacked the Captain Mid-Flight, Here’s What We Know and What It Means for Your Gulf Connection

Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday 2 October 2026 after a co-pilot attacked the captain with the cockpit crash axe, and the UAE Prosecutor General has called it an attempted terrorist act. All 174 passengers landed safely. For travellers, the practical question is narrow: this was one flight and one crew member, and the airline has suspended its flights to Israel, not its wider network.

What is confirmed about the attack

The UAE Prosecutor General, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, said the co-pilot attempted to carry out a terrorist act and that investigators are examining the motives and any connections. Al Jazeera reports that passengers and crew subdued the attacker after the aircraft lost height, and that the plane was brought back under control by a second crew pair before landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk.

Media reports have named the co-pilot as an Omani national, but officials have not formally confirmed his identity, so we are not printing a name. Israel’s prime minister has said Israel is looking into whether anyone directed him. That is a statement of inquiry, not a finding.

Is it safe to fly through the Gulf now?

Nothing published so far points to a wider threat to Dubai or Abu Dhabi connections. The UAE is leading the investigation and flights have continued, with repatriation flights resuming by 3 October. What is not yet known is how a co-pilot reportedly barred from flying by his home country’s regulator came to be in a cockpit. That is the question regulators will be pressed on, and we will not guess at the answer.

Government advice on the region moved before this incident, so read it, not headlines. We set out how the US, UK and Australian advisories differ in our guide to Dubai transit warnings. If you hold a ticket on a Gulf carrier, check your airline’s own notices and your government’s travel advice the day before you fly.

What you are owed if your flight is cancelled

It depends on where you fly from and which airline operates the flight. UK Civil Aviation Authority guidance says its cancellation rights apply on any airline departing a UK airport, and on EU or UK airlines arriving in the UK. A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv falls outside that, so a traveller on that route relies on the airline’s own conditions and, in practice, a refund or rebooking offer.

For a Flydubai or Emirates-style connection departing the UK or EU, you keep the right to a refund or re-routing, plus meals and a hotel if you are stranded overnight. Compensation is a separate matter and is unlikely when a cancellation stems from a security event, which counts as outside the airline’s control.

What it means for Nepal travellers

Many Nepal trips route through Dubai. Our trekkers flying in via the Gulf should build a spare day into the front of any itinerary, because a missed connection at that end costs far more than a spare night in Kathmandu. We covered the new Dubai to Pokhara service in our flydubai Pokhara guide. We have seen no reporting that this incident has changed any Nepal service, and we will update this page if that changes.

If you are booked on one of our treks and your inbound flight changes, message us on WhatsApp as soon as you know. We can move a pickup and adjust a first-day hotel, usually at no cost when told early.

Ask us about a flexible arrival day or message us on WhatsApp.

Cover photo: Quentin Krattiger via Pexels (Pexels License). Section photos: Stefan Stefancik via Pexels (Pexels licence); Rhys Abel via Pexels (Pexels licence); K via Pexels (Pexels licence); Gustavo Fring via Pexels (Pexels licence); Keegan Checks via Pexels (Pexels licence).