Air Threat Signal: Revelation about Ryanair Flight between Sofia and London

13.08.2025 | News

A Bulgarian citizen reports a potential danger during a flight, which triggers a large-scale check by the competent services without identifying a real threat.

Снимка от Javier Bravo Muñoz, Wikimedia Commons, под GFDL 1.2

An emergency situation was prevented on Monday when a call to phone 112 triggered a large-scale check of a Ryanair international flight between Sofia and London's Stansted Airport. The caller - a Bulgarian citizen from Plovdiv - reported a presumed Palestinian with an intention to do "bad things" on board a Boeing 737 aircraft.

Immediately after receiving the information, the competent institutions took immediate action. The Coordination Center at Vasil Levski Airport and Air Traffic Management (ATM) were notified that the aircraft was already in Serbian airspace, specifically over the Novi Sad area.

During a thorough check by Border Police, it was established that the initial information was completely unfounded. There were no Palestinian or Pakistani citizens on board who could pose a threat. An interesting detail is that among the passengers were the ex-wife and two daughters of the caller.

The Crisis Staff took extremely precise actions - Ryanair, Stansted Airport, and partner services were immediately informed. The flight management decided not to make an emergency landing and continued the flight to the final destination - London.

Additional complications arose when passing through Czech airspace, which necessitated a rerouting through an alternative air corridor over Germany. The German Air Force escorted the aircraft with fighter jets as a preventive security measure.

The Minister of Transport and Communications, Grozdan Karadjov, confirmed that no incidents were registered at Vasil Levski Airport during the past 24 hours. The case demonstrates the high readiness of Bulgarian services to respond quickly and professionally to potential threats.