Israel will begin repatriation flights on Friday to bring back passengers stranded in the United Arab Emirates after commercial travel between the two countries was suspended in the wake of the attack on a pilot by his copilot who tried to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flight this week.

The effort to get Israeli passengers home comes as authorities in Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and beyond grapple with the fallout from the incident on board the FlyDubai flight from Dubai on Wednesday. The attack has raised questions about the state of aviation security and further unsettled a Middle East already shaken by the ongoing US-Iran war.

- AP

On 30 September, flydubai flight FZ 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv was diverted to Tabuk in Saudi Arabia, following a safety incident in the flight deck.
 
I am relieved to confirm that all 172 passengers and crew on board are safe and being cared for. This includes our Captain, who has now returned to the UAE following medical clearance. We will continue to provide everyone affected with the support they need.
 
I want to express my deep gratitude to our crew, our Captain, and the pilots who secured the aircraft and landed it safely. I extend our sincere gratitude to the passengers on board who assisted our crew during a challenging situation.
 
On behalf of everyone at flydubai, I extend my sincere thanks to the authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their swift and professional response. I also thank the UAE authorities and relevant stakeholders for their support in helping our customers and crew return home.
 
At the request of the authorities, we have temporarily suspended operations to Tel Aviv until further notice.  Our teams are working around the clock to support disrupted passengers and help them reach their final destinations.
 
I know there are many questions about what happened on board FZ 1073. A full official investigation, led by the relevant authorities and fully supported by flydubai, is underway. It is important that we allow this process to establish the facts.
 
We are deeply grateful that everyone on board FZ 1073 is safe, and for the continued support of our customers, our people and our industry partners.
 
Safety is, and always will be, our highest priority.

Israeli Minister Almog Cohen has proposed to name a lounge at the Ben Gurion Airport after flydubai pilot Smit Machchhar. 

Israel will inflict 'very heavy price' if there is any power behind flydubai incident, warns Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

"He wanted to save all fliers," Captain Smit Machchhar's father, Bhupendra Machchhar, told NDTV this afternoon.

Asked if Smit would fly a plane again, he said that he has been flying for over 17 hours and won't give up flying.

"Flying is his wife," he said.

Captain Smit Machchhar has suffered multiple injuries but is showing "positive recovery", sources told NDTV.

According to sources, he suffered wounds to his limbs, chest, and upper abdominal area.

Captain Machchhar has been airlifted from Saudi Arabia to Abu Dhabi.

Captain Smit Machchhar, in a video call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said that whenever he is in pain, he recites 'Hanuman Chalisa'.

"At that time too, I only kept reciting the Hanuman Chalisa. I pray every morning. I make my 2-year-old son recite Hanuman Chalisa too. I am away from the country but from its culture," he said.
 

Captain Smit Machchhar, who spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the flydubai flight incident, told him that the PM is his "biggest idol".

The two spoke over a video call.

PM Modi spoke to Captain Smit Machchhar over a video call and praised him for his bravery.

"Today the whole country can proudly say that we Indians are not people who take lives, we are people who save lives. And you had such a big wound on your body, you yourself were fighting for life and death. At that time, you did not care for your life, you cared for the lives of all the travellers," the prime minister told Machchhar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Captain Smit Machchhar over flydubai flight incident, officials said.

During the phone call, Machchhar told him what gave him courage during the mid-air attack.

WATCH - NDTV Micro - What Really Happened Inside The Flydubai Flight?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "deeply concerned" by the serious incident involving a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight and is relieved that tragedy was averted, a statement issued by his spokesperson said.

Guterres strongly condemns any act that places at risk civilian lives and the safety of civil aviation, the statement said, adding that the UN chief is grateful to all the authorities concerned for ensuring the safety of all passengers and for conducting their investigation.

“We will continue to monitor all developments related to this incident,” the statement said.

US President Donald Trump has said that if Iran would be struck “very hard” if it is linked to the copilot who tried to crash the Israel-bound flight.

The president was asked by reporters at the White House whether he had been briefed about any links between the pilot behind the attack and Tehran. He said, “We’re working on it right now.”

“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” he said, without elaborating about why he suspects Iran might be involved.

Asked if the US would retaliate against Tehran if it was behind the attack, Trump said, “Oh they’ll be hit, very hard, don’t worry.”

“You just ask them,” he added. “They know what happened. They’ll be hit very hard.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the co-pilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination".

"We know that he underwent Islamist radical indoctrination," he told a news channel without elaborating, adding that the co-pilot was being interrogated.

He said "the attacker, he calls out to the aircrew, 'Kill me, kill me'", making it "clear he was suicidal".

Here is a timeline of the four hours flydubai flight FZ1073 was in the air as a wounded captain fought off his copilot:

03:05 - Takeoff from Dubai airport. Flight had 182 people on board, most of them Israelis, heading to Tel Aviv.

05:21:09 - The first sign of descent from 34,000 feet.

05:22:40 - The aircraft drops by more than half its height, down to 16,600 feet, the sharpest drop in altitude recorded by data tracking platforms. Three seconds later, it ascends to 21,725 feet.

05:24:29 - Another significant drop to 15,000 feet, the lowest point of the aircraft's journey, which it maintains until it safely lands more than an hour later.

05:28 - First distress signal, Squawk 7700, a code for general emergency, while flying along the Saudi-Jordanian border.

05:35 - Changes distress signal to 7500 for “unlawful interference,” indicating something more serious like a hijacking attempt or an attack. It lasts for nearly an hour.

05:42 - Aircraft turns west, briefly entering Jordanian airspace. It is then flying at 15,000 feet.

05:46 - Aircraft makes a 180-degree turn and heads southwest to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

06:28 - Squawk code 7700 for general emergency is sent again, ending the “unlawful interference” alert code.

06:58 - Aircraft approaches and lands in Tabuk airport.

Saudi Arabian authorities have handed over the flydubai co-pilot accused of stabbing the Indian captain during a flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv as investigators try to establish the motive behind the midair assault. The co-pilot, an Omani national, had stabbed Captain Smit Machchhar during a flight on Wednesday morning. Hearing noises, passengers and crew rushed into the cockpit and overpowered the co-pilot as the Boeing 737 plunged nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.

A second pair of flydubai pilots aboard the flight -- which was carrying over 170 passengers and crew -- then landed the jet safely in Saudi Arabia's Tabuk.