Wizz Air flight makes emergency landing in Budapest after bomb threat

Budapest: A Wizz Air flight from London to Sofia was forced to make an emergency landing in Budapest on Monday after a bomb threat, prompting Hungary to scramble a fighter jet to escort the passenger aircraft to safety.

The Airbus A321, which had departed London Luton Airport for the Bulgarian capital, was diverted while flying over Bosnia and Herzegovina. It landed safely at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport, where police and security personnel carried out checks on the aircraft and its passengers.

Wizz Air later confirmed that the inspection had been completed and nothing suspicious had been found. The airline said the aircraft was expected to resume its journey shortly.

Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said a Gripen fighter jet was deployed within minutes of the alert to escort the passenger aircraft to Budapest.

The fighter jet returned to its base in Kecskemét after the aircraft landed, while Hungarian police took charge of the incident.

Wizz Air said the flight had been diverted in accordance with established security procedures and that it was cooperating fully with the authorities.

The airline stressed that the safety of passengers and crew remained its highest priority.

According to flight-tracking data, the aircraft departed London Luton at 8.33am GMT and was scheduled to arrive in Sofia at 1.25pm local time. Instead, it landed in Budapest at approximately 12.09pm local time.