Story perspectives

UAE suspends Tel Aviv flights after terror attack

By Drooid · Oct 4, 2026, 10:05 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Hamam al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar to crash Flight FZ1073 on 30 September 2026.
Captain Machchhar fought back and opened the cockpit door.
Passengers, including Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, subdued al-Hammami while off-duty pilots landed the plane in Tabuk.
UAE prosecutors called the act a terrorist attack, prompting flydubai to suspend all flights to Tel Aviv.
Al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani, had been barred by Oman Air in 2024 for extremist views.

History

Historical Context

On 3 July 1976 Israel launched Operation Entebbe, flying about 100 commandos to Uganda to free 102 hostages from an Air France hijacking; the raid killed all seven hijackers, 45 Ugandan soldiers and destroyed 11 MiG fighters, while commander Yonatan Netanyahu was the sole Israeli fatality. The success reshaped global counter-terrorism tactics and inspired later rescues such as the 1977 Lufthansa Flight 181 operation.

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Story summary

Hamam al-Hammami attacked Captain Smit Machchhar to crash Flight FZ1073 on 30 September 2026.
Captain Machchhar fought back and opened the cockpit door.
Passengers, including Israeli plumber Yaniv Hayoun, subdued al-Hammami while off-duty pilots landed the plane in Tabuk.
UAE prosecutors called the act a terrorist attack, prompting flydubai to suspend all flights to Tel Aviv.
Al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani, had been barred by Oman Air in 2024 for extremist views.

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