A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw in Poland to Tel Aviv in Israel had to divert to Burgas in Bulgaria yesterday after a mid-air security scare caused by a false hijack alert. The aircraft, an Electra Airways Airbus A320 operating the flight on behalf of LOT Polish Airlines, had almost reached Israel at the time that the alarm was raised, but it then subsequently had to backtrack to the north in order to divert.

The potentially serious nature of the situation, which saw the plane temporarily lose contact with air traffic control, prompted the Israeli military to dispatch a pair of fighter jets to intercept the airliner. However, contact was soon restored, with the incident appearing to have been prompted by a mistaken transponder activation in the cockpit. Even so, the diversion resulted in a lengthy delay to the flight.

False Alarm

Credit: Flightradar24

LOT Polish Airlines flight LO155 is a regularly scheduled international commercial passenger flight that originates at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), the Polish flag carrier’s main hub. Its destination is Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, with data from Flightradar24 showing that it is typically operated on LOT’s behalf by an Airbus A320-200 from Bulgarian operator Electra Airways.

As reported by Mint and Business Insider, the service departed 65 minutes late at 11:35 AM, but soon became much later after a security alert. Specifically, fears of a hijack arose after the jet lost contact with air traffic control and emitted the squawk code 7500, prompting the dispatch of both Israeli and Bulgarian fighter jets. It was soon established that there was no such hijack, with LOT telling passengers that:

“The diversion of the flight to Burgas was caused by the unintentional activation of an onboard security alert. In accordance with the applicable safety procedures, the aircraft was redirected to an alternate airport.”

Onwards To Israel

Credit: Flightradar24

After circling over the Mediterranean Sea just southwest of Cyprus, the flight ultimately ended up diverting to the Bulgarian city of Burgas (BOJ), where it touched down just before 5:15 PM. LOT went on to explain that the diversion was made “so that the situation could be fully clarified with the relevant authorities,” with the airline stressing to the passengers that “situations of this nature are extremely rare.”

Reporting on the matter by Business Insider highlights the fact that, even though contact was successfully re-established and the jet landed safely in Burgas, safety concerns remained. As such, the Bulgarian police opted to screen the passengers and take them from the plane to a holding area. Once the relevant authorities were satisfied that no such security threat existed, the flight was able to continue.

However, it did so with a considerable delay, taking off at 12:00 AM. It eventually reached Tel Aviv at 1:54 AM today, representing a delay of around 10.5 hours compared to its planned arrival at 3:20 PM yesterday. The return flight was also heavily delayed, and eventually took off at 3:49 AM. It touched down in Warsaw at 6:04 AM today, also around 10.5 hours after its planned arrival time at 7:30 PM yesterday.

The Aircraft Is Also Operating The Tel Aviv Route Today

Credit: Shutterstock

As previously noted, the aircraft operating yesterday’s diverted and delayed LOT Polish Airlines flight LO155 from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport was an Electra Airways Airbus A320-200. According to Flightradar24, it bore the registration LZ-EAB, with data from ch-aviation showing that it has 180 economy class seats on board and is a whopping 34.37 years old, having first flown in 1992.

At the time of writing, the jet was back in the air, once again operating flight LO155 from Warsaw to Tel Aviv on behalf of LOT Polish Airlines. This morning’s iteration left 68 minutes behind schedule, at 11:38 AM, and it is expected to land in Tel Aviv at 3:58 PM, which would represent a delay of just 38 minutes. Needless to say, such delays are put into perspective by events such as those of yesterday.