Military escort El Al flight bound from New York to Tel Aviv to safety after a bomb threat was made
AVIATION officials say a bomb threat on board an El Al flight bound from New York to Tel Aviv led France and Switzerland to deploy military jets as escorts.
AN El Al passenger plane bound from New York to Israel was intercepted by military jets and escorted to land safely after its pilots received a bomb threat.
Aviation officials say the bomb threat came as the Boeing 747-400 aircraft was flying from JFK airport to Tel Aviv, through an anonymous tip.
The information led France and Switzerland to deploy military jets as escorts for the plane.
Spokesman Vladi Barrosa of the Swiss government-run air navigation service Skyguide said the plane left Swiss airspace into Austrian airspace.
In Israel, El Al spokeswoman Dana Hermann said “an anonymous tip was received. The flight is continues as planned to Tel Aviv.”
The incident caused concern among locals in German-speaking Switzerland after two sonic booms echoed after two Swiss F/A-18 aircraft were deployed for the escort.
Barrosa said French military jets had also escorted the flight prior to its entry into Swiss airspace.
El Al Flight LY2 landed safely in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion international airport at about 12.37pm local time.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said US airport authorities received an anonymous message and alerted the Swiss authorities as the plane entered Swiss airspace.
A check showed that the plane was “clean”, he said, indicating it was a false alarm.