In brief
A Wizz Air aircraft diverted from London to Sofia to Budapest on 2 November after a bomb threat met an swift response from Hungary’s air force and NATO. Gripen fighters escorted the plane to Liszt Ferenc International Airport while ground police handled the situation, and the incident triggered an ALPHA alert. The origin of the threat remains unknown and investigators continue to probe the incident.
A Wizz Air passenger flight scheduled to depart from London and fly to Sofia diverted en route to Budapest on 2 November after a bomb threat forced the aircraft to land at Liszt Ferenc International Airport, according to Xinhua reports and a Facebook post by Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin‑Szendi. The flight, carrying hundreds of passengers, had been late but was cleared to take off from London Heathrow with a planned pilot‑briefing for the Slovak destination. The threat was received by the flight crew through the aircraft’s cockpit radio system, prompting the airline to request an emergency diversion.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the bomber’s alert triggered a NATO air policing ALPHA alert within minutes of the crew’s request. As a result, Hungarian armed forces scrambled a fleet of Gripen fighter jets from the 12th Attack Squadron based in Kecskemet to escort the passenger plane over Hungarian airspace. The jets took off from the Karl J. von Kodolányi airfield and established a protective corridor from the twentieth floor of the aircraft’s cabin to the runway.
Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin‑Szendi posted the incident on his official Facebook page and reported that the plane had been given permission to land at Budapest’s main international airport. He noted that the aircraft landed safely with no injuries reported, and that the escorted inbound approach was conducted without incident. He also added that the Hungarian police were dispatched to the site to secure the aircraft’s perimeter and collect evidence.
The NATO air policing ALPHA alert, a standard protocol for suspected hostile activity, was automatically activated when the threat message was received. The alert required close cooperation with allied forces in the region, which confirmed that the Hungarian Gripen jets were in compliance with joint air safety procedures. The alert was subsequently downgraded once the police completed their initial sweep and no secondary threats were detected.
Following the plane’s safe arrival, the Gripen fighters returned to their base in Kecskemet, leaving the ground forces to manage the aftermath. Police teams conducted a sweep of the passenger aircraft, gathering recordings from the cockpit voice recorder and screen data from the aircraft’s flight computer. A preliminary report indicated that the threat message contained an audio file that sounded like a detonator, and the crew had no indication that the threat was linked to an actual device on the plane or in the vicinity.
Authorities have not yet disclosed whether the threat was transmitted via an onboard communication system or intercepted by ground‑based listening equipment. The Budapest police statement said that no biometric or digital traces from the threat source were detected during the initial sweep, and that the strike point fell within a wide perimeter around the airport. The incident was also relayed to the European Union’s aviation security agency to ensure that all member states were aware of the potential risk.
The Wizz Air flight was scheduled to continue to Sofia after a brief stopover in Budapest, but the airline has since suspended the itinerary for the next few days pending the outcome of the investigation. The airline’s spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft would be inspected for any damage before resuming operations, although no structural compromise was found during the initial test.
At present, investigators have not determined the motivation behind the bomb threat, the identity of the transmitter, or whether an actual device was onboard the aircraft. The incident remains under official investigation by Hungarian security agencies, NATO, and Wizz Air, while the passenger list and crew details have not been released publicly. Until further details emerge, the unresolved questions about the source and intent of the threat will remain at the core of the unfolding narrative.
