Israel scrambles fighter jets after airliner accidentally reports hijacking

JERUSALEM - The Israeli military said it scrambled two fighter jets towards a civilian airliner over the Mediterranean Sea on June 30, with European officials saying the pilot accidentally broadcast a hijack code.

LOT Polish Airlines said the flight, which was operated by Bulgarian company Electra Airways, was headed from Warsaw to Tel Aviv when “the crew reported an emergency situation”.

“This report was cancelled in the course of subsequent communications with air traffic control,” the airline’s spokesman, Krzysztof Moczulski, told AFP.

Bulgaria’s defence ministry said in a statement the aircraft had broadcast transponder code 7500, an emergency messaging signalling unlawful interference or a hijacking.

Sofia had also scrambled a fighter jet, a MiG-29, to intercept the airliner and escort it through Bulgarian airspace.

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”.

The Israeli military said in a statement that “two Israeli Air Force fighter jets were scrambled toward a civilian aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea following a report of lost communication with the aircraft”.

“There is no concern of a security incident,” it added.

Warsaw Chopin airport spokesperson, Piotr Rudzki, told AFP that: “We have no reason to take action in this situation.”

“The (Bulgarian) airline is reporting pilot error, so no action is required on our part. We are monitoring the situation; nothing indicates any (external) interference,” he added. AFP