Gulf Media Downplays Attempted Hijacking of Flydubai Flight to Tel Aviv
Gulf media outlets have downplayed the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv, which made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, shifting focus to routine diplomacy.
Gulf and Arab media have largely downplayed the attempted hijacking incident involving a Flydubai flight en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, which was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Major newspapers in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman dedicated minimal front-page coverage to the event, focusing instead on routine diplomatic affairs and official statements.
Saudi and Emirati Media Coverage
Prominent Saudi newspapers such as Okaz and Al-Riyadh completely omitted the incident from their front pages, choosing instead to highlight the speech delivered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Shura Council. While Al-Riyadh later published a report on page eight discussing the contradictory versions of the event, it emphasized that the reports could not be independently verified. Okaz similarly relegated the story to technical details, framing it as an emergency landing prompted by pilot injuries.
"The incident on flight FZ 1073 has ended, and the passengers have returned to their country. Flydubai stated that the motives remain unknown and the matter is under official investigation," reported Al-Riyadh.
In the United Arab Emirates, media outlets highlighted a phone call between UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar. Publications like Al-Ittihad and Al-Khaleej focused on the inquiry into the well-being of the passengers, while the official UAE news agency reported that the Attorney General had ordered an investigation to determine if the incident was linked to terrorist activity.
Qatari and Pan-Arab Reactions
Meanwhile, Qatari and pan-Arab outlets offered more prominent coverage. The London-based Arabic daily Aawsat and Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed featured the story on their front pages, highlighting the mystery surrounding the flight and the differing accounts of the confrontation inside the cockpit. Al-Quds Al-Arabi framed the event as a regional emergency, noting that the Israeli government sought to capitalize on the security breach politically.
