Central News Agency (CNA Sofia, July 1, Comprehensive Foreign News) Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport stated yesterday that a flight from Warsaw, Poland, to Tel Aviv, Israel, mistakenly reported a hijacking due to a technical malfunction, prompting Israeli and Bulgarian fighter jets to scramble for interception. An airport official had earlier told AFP that the Bulgarian company operating the Airbus A320 blamed pilot error for the incident. However, Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport said in a statement: "The deviation from the route was due to a technical malfunction in the aircraft's transponder, which erroneously transmitted an illegal interference/hijacking signal." "After confirming there was no actual threat on board, the aircraft exited our airspace via Turkey." The Ministry of Transport stated that the passenger plane, originally bound for Tel Aviv, was rerouted to Bulgaria at the request of the operating carrier and was subsequently "intercepted and escorted" by Bulgarian fighter jets. However, the Israeli military stated that after receiving a "report of communication interruption," it dispatched two fighter jets to intercept a civilian aircraft over the eastern Mediterranean. LOT Polish Airlines stated that the flight was operated by Bulgaria's Electra Airways and that the crew had "reported an emergency situation." "Following further communication with air traffic control, this report was canceled," LOT spokesperson Krzysztof Moczulski told AFP. Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense stated in a release that the aircraft transmitted transponder code 7500, which signifies an emergency message indicating illegal interference or hijacking. Moczulski stated that due to crew duty time limitations, the aircraft was rerouted to Burgas, Bulgaria, where Electra Airways is also headquartered. (Intern Editor: Wang Bo-jie / Editor: Hsu Chung-che) 1150701 Stand with facts, your every sponsorship is a force to protect press freedom Download CNA's "Firsthand News" APP for real-ti