LARNACA, 6 October 2004 — Cyprus issued a strong protest yesterday after Israeli jet fighters forced a Lufthansa passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv to land in Cyprus without prior authorization amid what proved to be a false bomb alert.
Lufthansa said that it was convinced the threat was a hoax but that Israel had insisted on diverting the German airliner which was carrying over 300 passengers.
The anonymous threat had been made to city authorities in Frankfurt and Berlin earlier yesterday.
The Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador over the action taken against Flight 686, which was forced to land at Larnaca airport, private Sigma television reported. Public television said protests would also be filed with the international civil aviation authorities as well as the Israeli Communications Ministry.
“The plane was escorted by Israeli jets to some 60 nautical miles off the Larnaca coast before retreating,” complained Communications Minister Haris Thrasou. “Israel would not allow the plane to land.”
The distance is outside Cypriot airspace but well within the Nicosia flight information region covered by control towers on the Mediterranean island.
Just over six hours after the Boeing 747-400 touched down here, the 331 passengers and 18 crew took off again for Tel Aviv at 9:22 p.m. (1822 GMT) after no bomb was found, airport officials said. The plane had left Frankfurt at 10:10 a.m. (0810 GMT).
Sniffer dogs had searched the cockpit and cabin and given the all clear before the cargo and luggage were unloaded and inspected.
In Berlin, a Lufthansa spokeswoman said the bomb alert had been discounted from the outset.
“We came to the conclusion with the German authorities that this alert was not serious. We wanted to fly through to Tel Aviv but the Israeli authorities forced us to land in Larnaca,” she said.
Cyprus Justice Minister Doros Theodorou said the aircraft had only been allowed to land at Larnaca without the normal clearance “for humanitarian reasons”.
Military sources in Jerusalem confirmed that the bomb scare aboard the airliner had prompted the air force to be put on “very high alert”.
Israeli media reported that Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz had ordered that the plane should not be allowed to enter Israeli air space until security checks had been completed.
It was the sixth mid-air bomb scare over Europe in 10 days and highlighted the problem of bomb hoaxers. Airline officials and security analysts said carriers had to play safe, given the fear of a terrorist attack.
