Three passenger planes operating flights to Bulgaria were escorted by MiG-29 fighter jets after bomb threats were received. The Ryanair planes were flying from Copenhagen, Madrid and London to Sofia.
Bulgarian Air Force crews were activated from Graf Ignatievo Air Base. The fighter jets took off at 10:11 to intercept and escort the civilian aircraft to the airports in Sofia and Plovdiv, the Ministry of Defence said.
The Plane from London Was Diverted to Plovdiv
The flights from Copenhagen and Madrid landed as scheduled at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia. The plane from London was diverted to Plovdiv Airport, where it landed in a designated area for further inspection. There were 184 people on board.
Fire engines and ambulances were dispatched to the scene in accordance with the emergency plan. After landing, the passengers were deplaned, and the aircraft and luggage were inspected. No explosive devices or other dangerous objects were found. The passengers were provided with bus transportation to Sofia.
„They simply carried out an inspection. They took us off three at a time and lined us up. They checked the luggage with dogs, and no one gave any explanation for anything,“ passenger Valya Tsonkova told BNT.Five Flights to Bulgaria Were Affected
The incident on November 5 is the latest in a series of alerts in European airspace. On November 2, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest after a bomb threat was received during the flight. A Hungarian Gripen fighter jet escorted the plane to the airport in the Hungarian capital.
As a result, over several days, the total number of flights to Bulgaria affected by similar threats reached five. According to BNT, the number of affected flights in Europe on November 5 alone was 25. Other airlines whose planes were inspected or diverted included LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Finnair, Aegean Airlines and Wizz Air.
In the United Kingdom, Transport Minister Heidi Alexander described the series of alerts as „malicious hoaxes,“ the Associated Press reported. The agency said the threats had led to planes being diverted, escorted by military aircraft or forced to land in several European countries.
When carrying out such missions, Bulgarian fighter jets operate under the „Air Policing“ procedure. At the command of NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre, they carry out tasks involving the detection, identification and escorting of aircraft. The investigation into the origin of the emails and any possible link between the individual incidents is ongoing.
Sources: bntnews.bg, apnews.com, euronews.com