Hungarian Air Force fighter jets give escort to three bomb-threatened passenger jets

 Hungarian Air Force Gripen fighter jets were scrambled three times to escort civilian aircraft in the country’s airspace following reports that explosive devices had been planted on board, Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi reported, noting that these actions were taken on the orders of NATO command.

"The first alert was received at 9:48 a.m. local time (7:48 a.m. GMT) regarding an Airbus A321 flying from Brussels to Sofia. Hungarian fighter jets began escorting the aircraft near the city of Kaposvar. After the passenger plane left Hungarian airspace and headed toward Serbia, NATO ordered a pair of fighter jets to continue patrolling near the Serbian border," the top defense official wrote on his Facebook.

He noted that "at 10:33 a.m. local time (8:33 a.m. GMT), another alert was received: this time, the bomb threat involved two passenger planes that had departed from Prague, one of which was headed for Cyprus and the other for Bucharest."

 "Around 10:45 a.m. local time (8:45 a.m. GMT), both aircraft left Hungarian airspace, heading for Romania, after which NATO ordered patrols in the area of the Hungarian-Romanian border," the minister said.

In recent days, aviation authorities in various countries have received dozens of anonymous reports claiming that bombs have been planted aboard passenger planes flying on routes across Europe. Some airliners were forced to make emergency landings. 

So far, none of these threats have been confirmed, and no explosive devices have been found.

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Source of information: Global News Agencies including REUTERS / TASS / AFP / ANADOLU / INT.RU / Al Jazeera / CNN