Bomb threats were made against two planes traveling from Bergamo and Dublin to Sofia. The aircraft were not diverted to another airport, and searches on board found no explosive devices, Minister of Transport and Communications Georgi Peev told journalists in Pernik.
According to him, all procedures предусмотренные in the event of such a signal were activated. “This is a procedure in which action is taken according to protocol. All protocols have been activated,” Peev said. He added that some of the information is classified and therefore he could not provide further details.
The minister clarified that the decision as to which airport a given flight should land at rests entirely with the commander of the aircraft. The role of the state is to ensure a safe landing and organize the subsequent actions to establish whether a real threat exists.
“There is no danger whatsoever in this case,” Georgi Peev said. He pointed out that air traffic controllers, all institutions involved and the Air Force had acted according to standard protocol.
The minister did not say how many people had been on board the planes. It was also not specified whether the alerts had been received by email.
Peev explained that when information about a possible threat is received, the first person to receive it activates a standard procedure. A special checklist is then followed, designed to ensure that the authorities take the same actions in all similar situations.
Earlier, acting Chief Secretary of the Ministry of Interior Chief Commissioner Lyubomir Nikolov said that bomb threats had been sent to various institutions, as well as to a plane linked to Sofia Airport.
Sources: bta.bg