A technical error caused a Tel Aviv-bound flight to report a hijacking Tuesday that led to Israeli and Bulgarian jets scrambling to intercept the aircraft, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said.
An airport official earlier told AFP that the Bulgarian company operating the Airbus A320 blamed pilot error.
Bulgaria’s transport ministry said, however, in a statement: “The reason for the diversion is a technical failure of the aircraft’s transponder, which transmitted a false signal of unlawful interference/hijacking.”
“After confirmation that there was no real threat on board, the aircraft left the country’s airspace via Turkey,” the ministry added.
The ministry said the jet, headed to Tel Aviv, was redirected to Bulgaria at the operator’s request, where it was “intercepted and escorted” by Bulgarian jets.
The Israeli military, however, said it had scrambled two fighters to intercept a civilian aircraft over the eastern Mediterranean after “a report of lost communication”.
LOT Polish Airlines said the crew of the flight, which was operated by Bulgaria’s Electra Airways on its behalf, “reported an emergency situation”.
“This report was cancelled in the course of subsequent communications with air traffic control,” airline spokesman Krzysztof Moczulski told AFP.
Bulgaria’s defence ministry said in a statement the aircraft had broadcast transponder code 7500, an emergency message signalling unlawful interference or a hijacking.
The flight was rerouted to Burgas in Bulgaria, where Electra Airways is based, Moczulski said, “due to limitations related to the authorised working time for the crew”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
