INTERNACIONAL
Cambio climático altera la cosecha de café en Costa Rica y eleva los costos de producción
El cambio climático afecta el cultivo de café en Costa Rica por las variaciones en los patrones de lluvia y temperatura que requieren los cafetales. Las plantaciones de menor altitud se encuentran entre las más expuestas, según informó CR Hoy con base en datos del Instituto del Café y estudios del Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (Catie).
El cafeto necesita una estación seca definida y un período posterior de lluvias para desarrollarse en condiciones adecuadas. Cuando las precipitaciones pierden regularidad y las temperaturas superan los 25 °C, pueden surgir dificultades en la floración, el desarrollo de los granos y el secado del café al sol.
Estas condiciones también pueden modificar los ciclos de cosecha, aumentar los costos de producción y favorecer la presencia de plagas y enfermedades. Las variedades tradicionales Caturra y Catuaí están entre las más susceptibles a problemas como la roya.
Los cafetales bajo los 1,000 metros reciben mayores impactos
Las siete regiones cafetaleras de Costa Rica están expuestas a la variabilidad climática, aunque los cultivos ubicados por debajo de los 1,000 metros sobre el nivel del mar reciben los efectos con mayor intensidad. Las investigaciones del Catie registraron consecuencias negativas en Turrialba, la vertiente Atlántica y Naranjo.
El Instituto del Café también identificó al Valle Central Occidental, situado entre Alajuela y San Ramón, como una de las áreas con mayor vulnerabilidad. La región presenta un clima más seco y las lluvias pueden llegar tarde, incluso durante los años asociados a los fenómenos de El Niño o La Niña.
En Pérez Zeledón y Coto Brus, el cultivo enfrenta un escenario diferente por el exceso de precipitaciones. La región de Los Santos mantiene condiciones de mayor equilibrio climático, aunque también registra cambios en sus patrones habituales, de acuerdo con CR Hoy.
El caficultor Josué Navarro indicó que en Dota las lluvias disminuyeron, aunque se presentan con una intensidad mayor cuando ocurren. Según describió, los períodos de cosecha contaban antes con una delimitación más clara.
Actualmente, las flores y los granos maduros pueden coexistir durante todo el año dentro de una misma plantación. Esta situación dificulta la recolección porque el fruto no alcanza la madurez de manera uniforme.
La irregularidad de las lluvias condiciona la cosecha y el secado
Christian Chinchilla, gerente general de Coopedota, afirmó a CR Hoy que la cooperativa atravesó años con precipitaciones excesivas. Este año, en cambio, la región de Los Santos registró una menor cantidad de lluvia.
El gerente explicó que antes la recolección coincidía con veranos secos. Esa coincidencia se presenta con menor frecuencia, lo que puede complicar las tareas de cosecha y las etapas posteriores de secado.
Las temperaturas elevadas suman otra condición para los productores. Por encima de 25 °C, el calor puede limitar la floración y afectar la formación de los granos, que pueden reducir su tamaño o no completar su desarrollo.
Las variaciones del clima pueden incidir tanto en el volumen como en la calidad de la producción. La respuesta de cada finca depende de factores como la altitud, la cantidad de lluvia, la temperatura y el estado de los suelos.
Costa Rica 95 integra el programa de renovación de los cafetales
El Instituto del Café empezó a distribuir en 2025 semillas de la variedad Costa Rica 95. El programa prevé alcanzar a 5,000 productores en los próximos tres años, aunque las plantas nuevas pueden tardar hasta dos años en generar una producción significativa.
Las variedades desarrolladas por la institución buscan tolerar temperaturas más altas, tener raíces más profundas y recuperarse con mayor rapidez ante condiciones adversas. El objetivo incluye sostener la productividad y la calidad del grano.
El proceso de mejoramiento genético combina cafetos de mayor resistencia e incorpora materiales provenientes de Etiopía, país de origen del café. Costa Rica conserva esos materiales desde hace décadas.
La renovación de las plantaciones será gradual, ya que cada productor deberá reemplazar los cafetos por etapas. Este proceso requiere tiempo antes de que las plantas alcancen una producción plena.
En Coopedota consideran que todavía es temprano para establecer el desempeño de las variedades recientes. La cooperativa estudia otras opciones, mientras Navarro prueba distintos materiales para determinar cuáles se adaptan mejor a las características de su finca.
El manejo del microclima aparece entre las alternativas de adaptación
Elías de Melo, coordinador de la Maestría en Caficultura Sostenible y Regenerativa del Catie, sostuvo que la reestructuración de la actividad puede influir en la continuidad de las explotaciones. “Los productores que están aislados”, advirtió, “están en riesgo altísimo de desaparecer”.
De Melo recomendó controlar la humedad y la temperatura dentro de los cafetales mediante el manejo del microclima. Entre las alternativas mencionó el uso de árboles de sombra durante el verano y una reducción de esa cobertura en la temporada lluviosa.
Las medidas incluyen la poda inteligente, el microrriego, la cobertura del suelo y la recuperación de terrenos agotados o afectados por enfermedades. El especialista sugirió aplicar insumos biológicos en lugar de productos químicos para parte de estas tareas.
La transformación de las fincas requiere inversiones y una aplicación gradual. Algunas propiedades de referencia registraron resultados positivos en estudios de largo plazo que contaron con participación de la Universidad de Costa Rica y la Universidad Earth.
Navarro incorporó sensores con inteligencia artificial en su finca para seguir las condiciones del suelo. Con esos registros, ajusta la fertilización según las necesidades detectadas en las distintas áreas del terreno.
INTERNACIONAL
Moscow threatens nuclear response over tiny fortress wedged between US allies as clash fears grow
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Russia’s warning that it could resort to nuclear weapons if NATO attempts to isolate Kaliningrad is raising new concerns that the heavily militarized Russian exclave could become a flashpoint between Moscow and the alliance, as experts warn the territory is already being used to pressure Europe through hybrid warfare.
Moscow warned NATO in a diplomatic document that it was prepared to use «the entire arsenal of forces and capabilities at its disposal, including nuclear weapons» if alliance members attempted to isolate Kaliningrad from the rest of Russia, Reuters reported Wednesday.
Kaliningrad, a Russian territory geographically separated from the Russian mainland, sits on the Baltic Sea between NATO members Poland and Lithuania and hosts significant Russian military assets, including elements of Moscow’s Baltic Fleet.
RUSSIA THREATENS STRIKES ON UK MILITARY TARGETS, ‘CATASTROPHIC CONSEQUENCES’ OVER UKRAINE
Russian President Vladimir Putin looks on a map showing the Kaliningrad exclave and the rest of Russia, Sept. 10, 2006. (Konstantin Zavrazhin/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
The Russian document also raised the possibility of strikes against «decision-making centers» in NATO member states from the outset of a conflict.
NATO rejected Moscow’s allegations in a response reviewed by Fox News Digital, saying the alliance is defensive and that none of its exercises or activities threaten Russian territory. The alliance also urged Russia to stop its «irresponsible nuclear rhetoric.»
Carrie Filipetti, executive director of the Vandenberg Coalition, a nonpartisan network of foreign policy leaders, told Fox News Digital that Moscow has repeatedly used nuclear threats as a means of trying to deter Western support for Ukraine.
«Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in the past, including veiled references to tactical nuclear attacks at the beginning of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, lowering their formal threshold for launching a nuclear attack in 2024, placing Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, and restarting nuclear testing,» Filipetti said. «It is very common for Putin to use these threats, because he sees it as a way to deter Europe and the United States from continuing to support Ukraine.»
SHE GREW UP UNDER SOVIET RULE. NOW EU’S TOP DIPLOMAT WARNS EUROPE AGAINST GIVING RUSSIA WHAT IT WANTS
The Blue Ridge-class command and control ship USS Mount Whitney participates in exercise Baltic Operations 2025 as ships sail in formation through the Baltic Sea, June 5, 2025. (U.S. Navy Courtesy Photo)
«The threat about a nuclear attack if Kaliningrad is threatened or isolated comes on the heels of a few developments,» she added, pointing to NATO jets being scrambled over Russian aircraft, U.S. and NATO air drills near Kaliningrad last month, and heightened tensions over the war in Ukraine.
Filipetti, who also served as a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department and as a senior policy advisor for the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN), argued that the timing also reflects mounting pressure on Moscow as the war continues.
«Putin seems to understand that the tide is turning against him, and he’s resorting to aggressive rhetoric to try to stop European support for Ukraine as he has tried to do in the past,» she said.
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim, a research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College and chief strategy officer at the New Lines Institute, told Fox News Digital that NATO should take the warning seriously, particularly because of the broader role Kaliningrad is already playing in Moscow’s confrontation with Europe.
BATTLE-TESTED ZELENSKYY SOUNDS CHILLING ALARM ON WHERE PUTIN’S WAR COULD HEAD NEXT
NATO’s largest annual maritime drill, Exercise Dynamic Mariner/Flotex 25, continues in the Gulf of Cadiz off southern Spain on March 28, 2025. (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ibrahim argued that while NATO has traditionally prepared for conventional military conflict involving «tanks and troops and divisions,» Russia is increasingly using methods designed to disrupt the infrastructure and systems on which civilian societies depend.
«Russia is actually adopting a very different approach,» he said, describing a strategy of hybrid warfare targeting «infrastructure» and «societies in general — what keeps societies functioning.»
Ibrahim described Kaliningrad as the «front line» of that effort.
«It’s essentially become a Russian fortress,» he said. «This is essentially a front-line operation of the Russians in terms of signals intelligence, signals interference and essentially mechanisms by which to carry out this hybrid warfare.»
Such interference, Ibrahim said, could play a role in the broader confrontation by disrupting civilian communications and infrastructure before or alongside a conventional military attack.
«All of that would be preceded by interference operations like this to ensure that societies are not functioning, are not able to respond to emergency services, the news information services, etc.,» Ibrahim said. «So governments lose control over what actually makes societies function.»
RUSSIA’S SHADOW WAR IS PUTTING EUROPE ON EDGE AS GERMANY CONFRONTS A GROWING THREAT
Soldiers from Poland’s 18th Division demonstrate battlefield medical training near the Belarus border after a serviceman from the division was killed in an attack by an illegal migrant. May 16, 2026. (Efrat Lachter/Fox News Digital)
The challenge for NATO, he said, is that such operations can be more difficult to attribute than a conventional assault.
«Many times, you cannot trace exactly where a lot of this interference is actually coming from — attacks on power stations or internet and telecommunications, et cetera,» Ibrahim said. «There’s always some sort of plausible deniability if it’s done by an actor who’s very capable.»
The ambiguity, Ibrahim argued, presents a challenge for an alliance built around collective defense against armed attack.
«NATO really does have to kind of reconfigure its posture to understand that these kinds of attacks are equivalent to essentially any sort of kinetic attack,» he said.
Asked what NATO and neighboring Poland and Lithuania should do following Russia’s warning, Ibrahim called for the alliance to establish clearer consequences for hybrid attacks.
«We now need to start going on the offensive in terms of hybrid warfare and understanding the threat and pushing back and sending a very clear signal to Moscow that such threats will not stand,» he said, arguing that a sufficiently serious hybrid attack should be considered capable of triggering NATO’s Article 5 collective-defense clause.
Lithuania, which directly borders Kaliningrad, rejected Moscow’s warning and accused Russia of trying to undermine NATO unity and Western support for Ukraine.
«Russia’s insinuations and threats have no basis. NATO is a defensive alliance and poses no threat to Russia or any other country,» Lithuania’s Foreign Ministry told Fox News Digital. «Russia’s threatening is intended to fracture transatlantic unity and impede our support to Ukraine. Russia will not achieve its goals.»
The ministry added: «We strongly condemn any threats to use force and irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. Russia must stop its aggression against Ukraine… Lithuania is strengthening its national defense system and capabilities, including air defense,» the ministry said. «We train with our allies and work alongside NATO forces deployed in Lithuania. We are prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory and respond to any threats.»
The ministry said Lithuania would also continue providing «comprehensive support to Ukraine and its fight against the aggressor Russia.»
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Newton told Fox News Digital, «In the weeks leading up to February 2022, many officials and commentators (myself included) weren’t sure Putin would actually invade Ukraine, even though there were a number of warnings and indicators he would do so. And then on that Feb. 24, Putin launched the largest land invasion against Ukraine since World War II.»
US ALLIES NEED TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT TESTING NATO BOUNDARIES, CZECH PRESIDENT WARNS
A razor-wire boundary fence along the Polish-Lithuanian border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, near the Suwalki Gap on Sept. 26, 2026. The gap is a 104-kilometre stretch of the Polish-Lithuanian border that forms the only land corridor connecting the Baltic states with the rest of NATO, while separating Belarus from Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images)
«NATO should take Russia’s warning seriously that it could resort to employing nuclear weapons against the alliance should Kaliningrad be cut off from Russia. We are in the midst of Russia employing ‘gray zone’ coercive actions against NATO nations, so this pronouncement should not surprise the West,» he added.
Filipetti cautioned that regardless of whether Moscow intends to follow through, nuclear threats themselves carry risks.
«NATO is a defensive organization that is in no way threatening Russia’s position on Kaliningrad,» she said. «That said, any time there is a public threat of nuclear attack it must be taken seriously, especially with someone like Putin.»
«Nuclear bombs are a potentially world-altering technology,» Filipetti added. «It is not only their use, but the threat of their use, that could cause significant miscalculations and escalations.»
Russia has denied Western accusations that it is conducting hybrid warfare against European states and has said it has no intention of attacking NATO countries. Moscow says NATO military activity around Kaliningrad is instead contributing to an increasingly dangerous confrontation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov characterized recent Russian warnings as diplomatic reminders to «hotheads in Europe,» Reuters reported Wednesday.
An office building burns following a Russian drone attack in central Odesa, Ukraine, on Sept. 18, 2026. (Michael Shtekel/AP)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Polish and Russian embassies for comment but did not receive responses in time for publication.
Reuters contributed to this story.
russia, nato, nuclear proliferation, europe, national security, world
Louisiana Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill is escalating her fight against abortion pills entering states that ban abortions through two lawsuits — one targeting the providers accused of distributing the drugs and another challenging the blue-state laws shielding them from prosecution.
Murrill, along with Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, sued New York, California and Massachusetts at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging their shield laws block cooperation with investigations into abortion-pill providers. The attorneys general also filed a separate lawsuit in Louisiana against more than 30 people and organizations accused of advertising, prescribing, dispensing or shipping abortion pills into their states.
«This is drug dealing and it’s illegal,» Murrill told Digital. «And we’re going to continue to do everything that we can to enforce the laws in our states.»
The two lawsuits, filed Wednesday, are the latest move in a widening state-by-state fight over abortion. That conflict has grown since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which struck down Roe v. Wade and gave elected officials the power to set abortion policy in their states.
HAWLEY SENDS CRIMINAL REFERRAL OF ‘LEFT-WING DARK-MONEY’ GROUP OVER MAILED ABORTION DRUGS
Murrill said the Supreme Court case targets the blue states’ legal protections that have thwarted Louisiana’s previous efforts to prosecute out-of-state doctors.
«These shield laws are very comprehensive,» Murrill said, arguing that California and New York prohibit officials from assisting other states seeking to enforce judgments stemming from abortion-related conduct.
Louisiana has already indicted New York physician Margaret Carpenter and California physician Remy Coeytaux over allegations that they prescribed abortion drugs that were sent into Louisiana. New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom have refused to extradite the doctors.
The Supreme Court complaint cited Louisiana’s unsuccessful effort to extradite Carpenter, saying Hochul declared there was «no way in hell» she would comply with Louisiana’s request. The filing said New York later strengthened its shield law, including by allowing prescribers of abortion drugs to keep their names off prescription labels.
Newsom similarly rejected Louisiana’s request to extradite Coeytaux in January, saying California would not help other states punish doctors for providing abortion access that is legal in California.
CALIFORNIA ABORTION PILL SUPPLIERS PLOT WORKAROUNDS AHEAD OF SUPREME COURT MIFEPRISTONE DECISION
When Murrill vowed to sue, Newsom responded on X telling her to «Go f— yourself. California will never help you criminalize healthcare.»
«I think that if I sent guns into their states illegally, they would certainly try to come after me,» Murrill told Digital. «I said specifically at the time that we would be coming for them and we are.»
«We are going to take down those laws using every tool that we have at our disposal,» she continued.
The second lawsuit directly targets what Murrill calls the «pill pipeline.»
The 100-page complaint alleges providers used online questionnaires to obtain information from customers before abortion drugs were mailed into states where their distribution is prohibited. The states allege some organizations openly acknowledged that their conduct violated those states’ laws while relying on shield laws to protect themselves from legal consequences.
Murrill said investigators have conducted controlled purchases and received pills packaged in small bags, sometimes in quantities she said exceeded what would ordinarily be prescribed.
«We’ve seen it for ourselves,» Murrill said. «There’s no supervision, there’s no healthcare, there’s no communication whatsoever. It’s all done online.»
Murrill argued that the system can allow people other than pregnant women to obtain the drugs, pointing to cases Louisiana authorities said involved women being pressured or deceived into taking abortion medication.
PRO-LIFE LEADER SOUNDS ALARM AFTER DOCTOR GETS 6 MONTHS FOR FORCING ABORTION PILLS ON GIRLFRIEND
«We have a situation in one town in Louisiana that we’ve documented and investigated where a father did not want his teenage daughter to keep a pregnancy,» Murrill told Digital. «And so he basically put the medication in a smoothie, forced her to drink it. She did ultimately give birth to that baby at 23 weeks and is still in a NICU fighting for its life.»
The attorney general also said Louisiana wants more help from the Trump administration.
«Obviously we think the FDA could be doing more and we’ve asked them to do that,» Murrill said.
Louisiana has separately challenged federal rules that eliminated an in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser backed the litigation, accusing blue states of using their laws «to obstruct justice» and urging the Justice Department to settle Louisiana’s separate FDA litigation.
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«Democrats’ pro-abortion extremism has brought this country to a crisis point. Abortion activists flagrantly sell dangerous drugs across state lines and women and children pay the price, with more and more survivors of ‘death in a pill’ bravely coming forward,» Dannenfelser said in a statement.
Digital reached out to New York, California and Massachusetts’ governors’ offices for comment.
abortion, louisiana, attorney general, states rights, federal courts
INTERNACIONAL
Flydubai passenger says co-pilot stabbed captain before terrifying plunge, emergency landing
Flydubai cockpit fight triggers emergency landing
A flydubai flight to Israel makes an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after a cockpit brawl. Fox News’ Jeff Paul reports the latest and Oded Ailam, former Mossad counterterrorism head, analyzes the incident during ‘Fox & Friends.’
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A Flydubai passenger said the co-pilot apparently stabbed the captain during a cockpit altercation before the Israel-bound jet plunged thousands of feet, triggering a terrifying scene aboard the aircraft and an emergency diversion to Saudi Arabia Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said one of the pilots stabbed the other and apparently attempted to crash the aircraft, which was carrying mostly Israeli passengers. Netanyahu said a passenger and crew member managed to enter the cockpit and overpower the alleged attacker as he tried to sabotage the aircraft’s systems, allowing another crew member to stabilize the plane.
«I salute the heroes who showed extraordinary bravery and, according to the passenger’s account, saved many lives,» Netanyahu said, according to an unofficial translation of his remarks. He added that the pilot accused of carrying out the stabbing was arrested and was being investigated by Saudi authorities.
The passenger told Fox News that accounts of what happened remained conflicting, but said passengers understood that the co-pilot had stabbed the captain and then collapsed onto the controls.
«There are many different accounts, but apparently the co-pilot stabbed the captain and collapsed onto the controls, shutting down the entire instrument panel. We began plunging downward for several minutes. Everyone on the plane was screaming, the overhead compartments opened, and the power went out. We were sure we were going to die. It was very scary,» the passenger said.
Flydubai later confirmed that an «altercation occurred in the flight deck,» saying on-duty Flydubai crew traveling aboard the flight secured the aircraft, diverted it and landed safely in Tabuk. The airline did not confirm the reported stabbing and said the underlying reasons and motives remained under formal investigation.
MIDAIR SCARE FORCES PACKED PASSENGER JET INTO EMERGENCY LANDING, TRAVELERS HOSPITALIZED
A Flydubai passenger with blood seen on his shirt (X/@AmichaiStein1)
Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk airport said both pilots were hospitalized after suffering injuries, according to Reuters. An investigation into the incident remains underway.
The Dubai-to-Tel Aviv flight landed safely in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, and everyone aboard was reported safe, according to officials.
A regional official briefed on the incident said an altercation broke out in the cockpit and apparently involved the pilots, though it was not immediately clear what sparked the confrontation. Israeli media, citing security officials, also reported that a dispute between the two pilots was behind the emergency.
«The crew have been questioned as part of the investigation,» the regional official said, according to The Associated Press, without saying whether anyone had been detained.
The incident prompted an immediate security response in Israel, where authorities initially feared the plane — carrying more than 100 Israeli passengers, according to The Jerusalem Post — could have been hijacked. Israel scrambled fighter jets as the situation unfolded.
AMERICANS WARNED AGAINST TRAVEL PLANS AS TERRORISM THREATENS POPULAR DESTINATION
Two Israeli officials told Reuters that Israel’s assessment was that the incident may have been an attempted «terror attack.» The Jerusalem Post separately reported that the growing assessment among Israel’s security establishment, including the IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet, was that the incident was intended as an act of terror.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz went further, calling the incident an «attempted jihadist terrorist attack» that was thwarted by Israeli passengers who entered the cockpit and overpowered the alleged attacker.
«According to the preliminary information available to us, the terrorist had one intention: to crash the aircraft with everyone on board,» Katz said.
The aircraft transmitted an emergency alert during the flight, according to publicly available flight-tracking information. Flight FZ1073 had departed Dubai and was headed for Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv before diverting to Tabuk.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft suddenly plunging nearly 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds before the first emergency signal, according to Reuters.
Israeli tourists leave a FlyDubai plane which departed from Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv and landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Malak Harb)
«The flight from Dubai was a very calm one for the first two hours. And when we were at the Jordanian border, suddenly the aircraft dropped, like a massive drop, like a massive turbulence for 20-30 seconds. Then balanced, and then once again dropped for 10 seconds and balanced again,» passenger Almog Italie said in a video obtained by Reuters. «And then we saw that in the front of the aircraft there was a riot. Many people rushed over there. Apparently, one pilot stabbed the other.»
Capt. Meidan Barr, former chairman of the Israel Airline Pilot Association, told Fox News Channel that such a rapid loss of altitude would ordinarily resemble an emergency descent, such as one performed following a loss of cabin pressure.
«Losing like 15,000 feet in two or three minutes, that is something that you do in, like, an emergency descent when you lose pressure,» Barr said, adding that the aircraft’s safe landing was significant and would allow investigators to determine what went wrong.
A plane takes off as a flydubai aircraft sits on the tarmac at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
Flight-tracking data also showed the aircraft transmitting emergency transponder code 7700 before briefly switching to 7500, a code used to signal unlawful interference with an aircraft, and later returning to 7700.
Passengers described a tense scene aboard the aircraft as the emergency unfolded. Travelers told Israel’s Channel 12 by phone that they heard shouting from passengers near the front of the plane who had apparently heard the cockpit altercation. They also said the aircraft dipped steeply before landing in Saudi Arabia.
IRISH SOCCER PLAYERS WEAR BLACK ARMBANDS, REFUSE TO SHAKE HANDS AHEAD OF CONTENTIOUS MATCH VS ISRAEL
The account provided directly to Fox News offered a more harrowing description of the sudden descent, with the passenger saying people screamed as overhead compartments opened and power aboard the aircraft went out.
Yasmin Abukasis, whose daughter was aboard the flight, told Fox News at Ben Gurion International Airport that her daughter described passengers rushing to intervene during the cockpit confrontation.
Abukasis said her daughter told her that a man had a knife and that passengers grabbed his hand and forced him to the floor amid significant bleeding. She also said two other pilots subsequently took control of the aircraft.
After landing, passengers remained aboard the plane as a heavy Saudi security presence surrounded the aircraft, according to their accounts to the Israeli outlet.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office later said the situation was under control and that Israeli authorities were working to bring the passengers home. The scare came as Netanyahu has warned in recent days about unspecified heightened security threats facing Israel.
Netanyahu convened security consultations over the incident and cleared the remainder of his schedule to manage the crisis, according to Reuters. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli airspace was temporarily closed before reopening after the aircraft landed in Saudi Arabia.
A FlyDubai aircraft takes off from Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo)
Flydubai said it deployed two replacement aircraft to Tabuk to relieve the passengers and crew and that the incident had no impact on its other scheduled operations.
«At this early stage, the underlying reasons and motives behind this event are unknown and remain subject to a formal investigation,» a Flydubai spokesperson said. «We urge all parties to refrain from premature speculation while authorities gather the facts.»
The exact circumstances surrounding the reported cockpit confrontation remained unclear Wednesday.
While disputes between pilots serious enough to affect a flight are rare, similar incidents have occurred. Two Air France pilots were suspended in 2022 after fighting in the cockpit during a flight from Geneva to Paris. That aircraft did not divert and landed as scheduled.
The initial hijacking fears carried particular weight in Israel, where aviation security has long been shaped by a history of attacks on Israeli travelers and aircraft. Palestinian militants carried out a series of hijackings and attacks involving Israelis during the 1960s and 1970s. Israel has not experienced an aircraft hijacking in decades and maintains stringent security procedures for Israel-bound flights.
Flydubai is a lower-cost sister carrier of Emirates. Flights between Israel and the United Arab Emirates began after the two countries normalized relations in 2020, opening the UAE as a major destination for Israeli travelers.
Fox News’ Yonat Friling, Greg Norman-Diamond, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
saudi arabia, world, israel, airlines, middle east, national security, air and space
El Sindicato de Camioneros se movilizará ante la Legislatura porteña para reclamar los USD 200 millones en indemnizaciones
Moscow threatens nuclear response over tiny fortress wedged between US allies as clash fears grow
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