UAE flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after onboard emergency

RAK Airways flight from Cairo to Ras Al Khaimah makes emergency landing in Saudi city of Tabuk

UAE’s RAK Airways flight returning from Cairo to Ras Al Khaimah on Sunday evening was diverted to Saudi Arabia after an onboard emergency, the airline said.

The RT 313 flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabian city of Tabuk.

“RAK Airways would like to confirm that onboard emergency was declared on flight RT313 from Cairo to Ras Al Khaimah at 16: 57 UTC and the airline was diverted for emergency landing to Tabuk, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The aircraft had an uneventful landing and all passengers and crew are safe.

The airline, the youngest national carrier of the UAE, didn’t disclose what onboard emergency prompted it to divert the aircraft to Saudi Arabia and make emergency landing in Tabuk.

A spokesperson from the airline said that “as a precautionary measure RAK Airways activated its Emergency Response System. Presently the Control Center is in communication with the crew.”

Helped by a code-sharing agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, RAK Airways carried more than 300,000 passengers across its network in 2012, an increase of 47 per cent over the previous year figures.