Bomb threat diverts Wizz Air plane travelling from UK to Bulgaria

A bomb threat forced a passenger plane from London to Bulgaria to be diverted to Budapest, Wizz Air has said.

The flight, which was due to depart from Luton airport at 8.15am on Monday and fly to Sofia Airport in the Bulgarian capital, was diverted after the threat was received “during the flight”, the airline said.

In a post on Facebook, Hungarian defence minister Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz said one of the country’s fighter jets been involved in the response and ensured the Wizz Air plane landed safely in Budapest.

The A321 airbus was scheduled to land at Sofia Airport at around 1.25pm local time and instead was diverted towards Hungary as was it flying over Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24.

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Wizz Air confirms that today’s London Luton–Sofia flight was diverted to Budapest following a bomb threat received during the flight.

“The aircraft diverted and landed safely at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport in accordance with the relevant security protocols and procedures, before taxiing to a designated stand, where the relevant authorities carried out the necessary security checks on the aircraft and passengers.

“Wizz Air is cooperating fully with the authorities.

“The safety of passengers and crew remains our highest priority.”

The airline confirmed on Monday afternoon that nothing was found during a search of the aircraft and that it was due to depart again shortly.