The Swiss Air Force scrambled fighter planes to escort an El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv around their borders following a bomb threat against the flight.
The Swiss F-18 planes escorted the El Al flight along the French-Swiss border, according to Swiss media.
Israel radio said that German fighter planes were scrambled too.
It is unclear what the fighter planes would actually do if there was a bomb on board.
The flight is continuing on to Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport without a problem. It’s expected to land between 12:32 PM to 12:40 PM Israel time. Update: The plane has landed safely at around 12:43 PM.
El Al released a statement that an anonymous threat was received, and the plane is continuing to Ben-Gurion airport as planned.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry after conferring with El Al, US airport authorities received an anonymous threat of a bomb in the kitchen of the El Al plane. The American authorities informed the Swiss authorities as the plane was then over their airspace. The Swiss then scrambled their fighters.
The El Al crew checked and did not find any bombs on board in the kitchen or elsewhere.
Update: The plane has landed safely at Ben-Gurion Airport at around 12:43 PM.
