Trump posts TikTok video thanking Yaniv Hayun over flydubai flight

US President Donald Trump has published a video on his TikTok account thanking Yaniv Hayun, an Israeli passenger credited with helping to stop an alleged hijacking attempt on a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv. The Times of Israel reported that the clip went up late on Friday night and that Trump used it to thank and congratulate Hayun, whom he called a hero.

The Israeli news site Ynet reported that Trump told Hayun he was a fan of his, and described Hayun as a man after his own heart. The Jerusalem Post also covered the video, headlining its report with a line from Trump about the two men liking each other, while the Hebrew-language Telegram news channel Abu Ali Express described the clip as a personal tribute dedicated to Hayun.

What Trump said

According to the Times of Israel, Trump said Hayun is a Trump fan and that he, in turn, is "a big fan" of Hayun. "He saved that flight," the president said. He went on to say that Hayun had learned to fly by watching the television series Air Disasters, and called him "my kind of guy."

Trump also referred to Hayun's work as a plumber, saying Hayun could be his plumber or anything else he chose to be, and praised the job he had done on board. Ynet carried the same remarks about the plumbing work in its Hebrew report.

The Times of Israel noted that this was not the first time Trump had spoken about Hayun. It reported that the president had already expressed amazement at accounts of Hayun's actions a day after the incident.

What happened on the flight

The reports describe the underlying incident in brief and in slightly different terms. The Times of Israel said the flydubai copilot tried to hijack a Wednesday morning flight to Tel Aviv, and in a photo caption said he is accused of intending to seize the aircraft and bring it down with a large number of Israeli passengers aboard. It said Hayun was among the Israelis who helped subdue the copilot.

Ynet described the attacker as an Omani terrorist, and said Hayun helped neutralise him and also stabilised the aircraft when it went into a dive. The Times of Israel account of Trump's remarks, which mentions Hayun learning to fly from a television programme, is consistent with Hayun having had some role at the controls, though the reports do not set out exactly what he did in the cockpit.

A photograph distributed by the Associated Press and published by the Times of Israel shows Hayun at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel's main international airport near Tel Aviv, with bloodstains on his shirt. The caption dates the image September 30, 2026.

Who the parties are

flydubai is an airline based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, which operates flights to Israel. Hayun has been identified across the coverage as an Israeli civilian passenger and, by the Times of Israel, as a plumber by trade. His surname appears in English as Hayun in the Times of Israel and as Hayoun in the Jerusalem Post; both are transliterations of the same Hebrew name.

Abu Ali Express, one of the outlets that reported the video, is a widely followed Hebrew-language Telegram channel that posts security and regional news. TikTok, where Trump posted the clip, is the short-video social media platform.

Where the accounts differ

The outlets do not use the same description of the alleged attacker. The Times of Israel identifies him as the flight's copilot and uses the word "allegedly" about his intent to crash the plane. Ynet refers to him as an Omani terrorist and does not, in the material available, describe him as a member of the crew. These descriptions are not necessarily in conflict, but the reports do not reconcile them.

What the reports do not say

The reports reviewed here focus on Trump's video and leave much of the incident itself unexplained. They do not name the alleged attacker, state his condition or say whether he has been charged. They do not give the flight's departure details, the number of passengers on board, or whether anyone was injured, beyond the photograph of Hayun's bloodstained shirt.

They also do not say whether Hayun has responded to the president's message, whether Trump and Hayun have spoken directly, or how flydubai, Emirati authorities or Israeli authorities have characterised the event. Who else on board helped subdue the attacker, and what precisely Hayun did to steady the aircraft, are not described in the available material.