Flight escorted by IAF into Ben Gurion after ‘security incident’; concerns unfounded

The Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets to escort a Wizz Air flight into Ben Gurion Airport Sunday afternoon, following a suspected “security incident,” a military source told The Times of Israel.

The suspicions occurred aboard the low-cost Hungarian carrier’s flight W95301 from London’s Luton Airport, and came after one of the passengers purportedly received a “threatening message” on their phone, according to a security source.

An Israel Airports Authority spokesperson told The Times of Israel that “due to suspicious conduct on the aircraft, security forces acted in accordance with the procedures for such a case.”

The air force scrambled several fighter jets, which escorted the plane back to the airport.

“The aircraft landed, and it was found that there was no real incident,” the spokesperson said.

According to reports in Hebrew media, the “threatening message” first appeared on the phone of a ultra-Orthodox couple, though Channel 12 said that the “message” was the name of a Wi-Fi hotspot that had been changed by their son to the Arabic word for “terrorist,” sparking fears of a possible attack.

Once on the tarmac, passengers and their belongings were checked by bomb-sniffing dogs, Channel 12 added, and nothing suspicious was found.

Air traffic returned to normal after incoming and outgoing flights were briefly paused due to the incident.