Ryanair flight escorted by fighter jets after bomb threat

Greek F-16 fighters were scrambled on Sunday to escort a Ryanair flight from Poland to Greece, following a bomb threat reported to authorities, a Defense Ministry source told the AFP news agency.

As the plane approached Athens, it was diverted over the sea as a precaution, but then allowed to land at the city's main international airport.

"The pilot informed the Athens control tower but we don't know where the information originally came from," Greek police spokeswoman Constantia Dimoglidou said.

"There were 190 people on board including the crew," she said.

The Boeing 737 had earlier been escorted by Hungarian warplanes.

A bomb disposal team was on site, the Greek state news agency ANA reported.