British Airways plane bound for Tel Aviv forced to turn back

A British Airways flight has been diverted at the last minute (Picture: AP)

A British Airways flight bound for the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv has been forced to turn around.

The flight was about to land at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel when it was diverted due to security concerns, the airline said.

The pilot was instructed to return to London.

Israel’s airport authority said the decision to divert the plane was made by the pilot, denying there was a security threat at the airport – however there were rockets in the air near Tel Aviv at the time of the flight’s diversion.

A BA spokesperson told Sky News: ‘Safety is always our highest priority and we’ve taken the decision to return our Tel Aviv flight to Heathrow.’

The flight left London this morning and was due to arrive in Tel Aviv at 3.05pm.

British Airways is one of only a few airlines still operating flights to Israel, with Wizz Air and other operators cancelling all flights.

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