Israeli Fighter Jets Scrambled After False Hijack Alert on Poland-Tel Aviv Flight

The Israeli military deployed two fighter jets after a report emerged that a passenger plane had been hijacked while flying over the Mediterranean Sea. However, the hijacking code had been sent inadvertently by the aircraft’s pilot. The incident occurred on Tuesday (30/6) local time, involving an Airbus A320 passenger plane owned by Polish airline LOT Polish Airlines but operated by Bulgarian company Electra Airways. LOT Polish Airlines said in a statement that the passenger plane was flying from Warsaw, the capital of Poland, to Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel, when the crew reported an emergency situation. LOT Polish Airlines spokesperson Krzysztof Moczulski told AFP that the report was cancelled in subsequent communication with air traffic controllers. Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said in a separate statement that the passenger plane had transmitted transponder code 7500, an emergency signal indicating unlawful interference or hijacking. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence, the plane bound for Tel Aviv was then diverted to Bulgaria at the operator’s request, where it was intercepted and escorted by Bulgarian fighter jets. The Bulgarian military deployed a MiG-29 fighter jet to intercept the passenger plane and escort it as it crossed Bulgarian airspace. In a follow-up statement, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence announced that the emergency signal was sent due to a technical error. An unnamed local airport official told AFP that Electra Airways attributed the incident to pilot error. The Bulgarian Ministry of Defence stated that the cause of the diversion was a technical fault in the aircraft’s transponder, which sent a false signal regarding illegal interference or hijacking. The statement added that after it was confirmed there was no real threat on board, the aircraft left the country’s airspace via Turkey. The Israeli military announced that two Israeli Air Force fighter jets were deployed towards the civilian aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea following reports of a loss of communication with the plane, adding that there was no concern regarding a security incident.