Aircraft Carried Greek Members Of European Parliament

A commercial flight carrying Greek members of the European Parliament to Strasbourg, France was diverted to Munich, Germany on Monday after a bomb threat was reportedly called in.

German air traffic control officials told Bloomberg the Olympic Airlines Boeing 737 landed in Munich at 1045 local time, and was promptly escorted to a cordoned-off section of the airport.

Airport spokesman Peter Pruemm confirmed "the pilot apparently said there was a bomb threat," adding all 137 persons onboard the aircraft were safely evacuated.

It is not known if the parliament members were expressly targeted. Greek police received a bomb threat against a flight number which did not exist, reports Bloomberg. The diverted aircraft has a flight number that most closely matched the alleged threat, 

"We have landed and everything is OK," said parliament member Stavros Lambrinidis to Greece's state-run NET television in a phone interview. "We were told about the bomb threat, but everyone remained calm."

Eleven Greek members of the European Parliament were onboard the plane, according to Athens airport spokeswoman Marina Papageorgiou. The parliament is due to meet in Strasbourg later in the day.

"We have informed our consular authorities in Munich, which ... sent staff to the airport and are cooperating with German authorities," said Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos.

"I hope it was a hoax, but we are looking into the issue and we hope to have it cleared up soon," he added.

FMI: www.europarl.europa.eu/, www.olympicairlines.com