Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv squawks 7500 before safe landing

A Flydubai flight from Dubai triggered a security response on approach to Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday morning. Its transponder briefly showed code 7500, the international signal for unlawful interference, according to flight tracking data.

Flight FZ1549, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered A6-FKN, left Dubai International Airport at 03:05 UTC and climbed to a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet. The crew first set the transponder to 7700, indicating a general in-flight emergency, at 05:31 UTC. Seven minutes later the code changed to 7500.

The aircraft dropped off local ground-based receivers at 06:11 UTC while on final approach. Satellite tracking resumed at 06:28 UTC with the code back at 7700. The jet landed on Runway 30 at 06:45 UTC and air traffic control directed it to a remote parking stand away from the main terminal, where emergency and security services met it.

Standard procedure calls for an immediate security response and isolation of any aircraft transmitting code 7500 until ground authorities establish the safety of those on board. Neither Flydubai nor Israeli aviation authorities have said whether the code was set because of an active threat or entered in error.