Terrorism

El Al Flight Gets Swiss Fighter Jet Escort After Bomb Threat

Cassandra Vinograd and Paul Goldman
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Swiss fighter jets escort El Al flight
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Swiss fighter jets escort El Al flight

Two fighter jets were scrambled due to a bomb threat on a passenger plane bound for Israel, officials said Tuesday.

Switzerland's air force confirmed that a "sonic boom" heard Tuesday morning was the result of a "hot mission" involving two of its FA-18s. It said in a statement the FA-18s escorted a foreign passenger plane through Swiss airspace, but did not provide details on why.

El Al Airlines confirmed that an "anonymous message" was received about a bomb on board its flight from New York to Tel Aviv, adding that the flight was continuing on to Israel as planned.

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An airport spokesman later confirmed the flight had landed safely at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport.

The incident — an apparent hoax — comes amid heightened security at U.S. airports following the deadly attack on Istanbul's international airport.