Fighter jets were deployed to escort a Ryanair flight with 174 passengers on board amid a security threat.
The Boeing 737 had just departed from the Bulgarian capital of Sofia and was en route to London Stanstead when the incident happened.
A Bulgarian man made a report to authorities – just as the aircraft crossed Serbia’s airspace – that a Palestinian passenger was planning to commit ‘bad actions’.
Panic ensued and two German military planes were ordered to intercept the jet.
The threat was considered to be so serious that the Ryanair jet was denied entry by Czechia into its airspace and ordered to divert.
The plane eventually made it to Stanstead Airport without an issue where it remained overnight on Monday.
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 Karadjo 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.’
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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