A Hungarian fighter jet escorted a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Budapest for an emergency landing after a bomb threat was received mid-flight. The airline later said security checks had found nothing and the aircraft would depart again shortly.

Flight 4302 had been bound for Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, but requested permission to land at Budapest Liszt Ferenc International Airport after receiving the threat, Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendis said.

A Hungarian Defence Forces Gripen fighter jet took off within minutes to escort the passenger aircraft, the minister said in a social media post. The fighter subsequently returned to its base and police took charge of the incident.

After landing, the Wizz Air aircraft taxied to a designated stand, where authorities checked both the plane and its passengers. The airline said the inspection had been “completed and nothing was found”.

FlightAware tracking data recorded the aircraft leaving Luton at 08:33 GMT. It had been scheduled to reach Sofia at 13:25 local time, or 11:25 GMT, but instead landed in Budapest at 12:09 local time, or 11:09 GMT.

Wizz Air said it was “cooperating fully with the authorities” and that the safety of passengers and crew “remains our highest priority”. Its subsequent announcement that departure was expected shortly set out the planned next step; it did not confirm that the onward flight had taken off.