Israeli fighter jets escort passenger airplane to security after a baby ‘modified his cellphone identify to “terrorist”‘
The Israeli Air Force scrambled fighter jets to escort a passenger plane to safety after a child changed his parents’ phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot to the word ‘terrorist.’
The plane, Wizz Air flight W95301, was flying into Ben Gurion Airport from London‘s Luton Airport on Sunday afternoon when one passenger purportedly received a ‘threatening message’ on their phone.
Israeli media reported that the message appeared on a phone belonging to an ultra-Orthodox couple.
The supposed message was the name of a Wi-Fi hotspot that had been changed by their son to the Arabic word for ‘terrorist’, which quickly sparked panic.
After the Israeli Air Force scrambled several jets, the Wizz Air flight was escorted to the Tel Aviv travel hub.
Data from FlightRadar showed the plane made three loops over the Mediterranean Sea just south of Cyprus before it landed in Israel.
Upon arriving at the airport, passengers and their belongings were investigated by bomb-sniffing dogs.
A spokesperson for the Israel Airports Authority told the Times of Israel: ‘The aircraft landed, and it was found that there was no real incident.’
The Wizz Air plane was flying into Ben Gurion Airport from London’s Luton Airport on Sunday afternoon when one passenger purportedly received a ‘threatening message’ on their phone (File image)
Air traffic returned to normal after flights to and from Ben Gurion were briefly paused.
The Daily Mail has contacted Wizz Air for comment.
It comes just weeks after a passenger plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Barcelona after a woman spotted a fellow passenger making bomb threats on his phone.
The plane, a Turkish Airlines jet that departed from Istanbul airport and landed at El Prat Airport, was escorted by Spanish and French jets over the Mediterranean Sea.
The threat was detected as the plane was near the coast of Italy. Spanish media reported that the crew was alerted by a woman who said she had seen another passenger make a bomb threat on his phone.
The plane circled several times before landing. Police surrounded the plane and boarded it soon after.
