Flight FZ1125 departed Dubai International Airport at 4:17 p.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport at 6:15 p.m. But at 5:45 p.m., the two-year-old Boeing 737 Max diverted to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh when the passenger required urgent medical care.
“The Israeli was transferred to a local hospital for medical treatment,” according to Israel’s N12 television channel. The passenger’s condition has not been publicly updated.
Saudi authorities granted the aircraft “exceptional permission” to land so the traveler could receive emergency treatment. The passengers, who were not allowed to leave the aircraft, spent roughly an hour on Saudi territory before the plane resumed its journey to Tel Aviv, N12 said.
A Ynet report confirmed the flight later took off for Israel without further incident. The crew and passengers remained calm throughout the diversion, according to Israeli media.
A similar episode occurred just over two years ago when an Air Seychelles flight carrying 128 Israeli passengers was forced to make an emergency stop in Saudi Arabia. That earlier case, like Wednesday’s, underscored a quiet yet growing pattern of practical cooperation on humanitarian grounds despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
The latest medical emergency highlights how shared regional air corridors and the need for swift humanitarian response can occasionally override political differences, at least in moments of crisis.