Fighter jets called to escort London Stansted bound Ryanair plane after security threat

Fighter jets were deployed to escort a Ryanair flight with 174 passengers on board amid a potential security threat.

The Boeing 737 had just departed from the Bulgarian capital of Sofia and was en route to London Stansted when a report was made about a ‘Palestinian man onboard who was planning to commit bad actions.’

The incident happened just as the aircraft crossed Serbia’s airspace on Monday.

Panic ensued and two German Eurofighter Typhoons were scrambled to intercept the plane.

The threat was considered to be so serious that Czech authorities denied the Ryanair plane entry to its airspace, forcing it to divert.

The aircraft eventually made it to Stansted Airport without an issue where it remained overnight on Monday amid an investigation into the claim.

Bulgarian authorities later revealed that there were no Palestinian citizens on board the aircraft and that it was a false signal.

The minister of transport and communications, Grozdan Karadjov, revealed that the Bulgarian citizen who made the report is from the city Plovdiv and that his ex-wife and two daughters were travelling on board.

He said: ‘On board the flight indicated by him (Sofia – London/Stansted), his ex-wife and his two daughters are traveling.

‘Upon inspection by the Border Police, it was established that there are no Palestinian citizens on board the plane.’

Karadjov added that the pilot made the decision not to make an emergency landing, but to continue the flight to London.

He added: ‘Additional security measures were introduced. The aircraft was not accepted into the airspace of the Czech Republic, which is why it was promptly redirected along a corridor over Germany, where it was accompanied by German Air Force fighter jets.’

A spokesperson for Ryanair told Metro: ‘Buzz, the Polish charter airline was advised of a possible security issue on a Buzz flight FR9962 from Sofia to London Stansted on Monday.

‘This issue was quickly resolved and de-escalated, which allowed the flight continue on to London Stansted where it landed on time, and passengers disembarked normally.’

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