Ryanair denies ‘near crash’ between airliner and Israeli jets

A statement from Ryanair provides further details regarding an incident earlier Tuesday that saw two Israeli fighter jets come close to one of its airliners.

The statement asserts that reports that a crash was narrowly averted were exaggerated:

This flight from Krakow to Eilat Ovda (1 Mar) was cruising at 27,000 ft in Israeli airspace when two military aircraft (over 3 miles away) were noticed by the crew ascending towards the Ryanair aircraft flight path. The crew notified local ATC and the military aircraft descended away from the Ryanair jet, which continued on to Eilat Ovda and landed without incident.

These military aircraft were at all times over 3 miles away from the Ryanair aircraft, so the reports of a “nearly crash” or “evasive manoeuvres” are all false and invented. All passengers on board the Ryanair aircraft noticed nothing, since our aircraft never diverted from its cleared flight path to Ovda.