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A bomb alert was reported on a Ryanair flight, a Boeing 737, from Poland to Greece on Sunday (January 22) with more than 190 people on board. Officials told news agency AFP that Greek warplanes scrambled to escort the flight after the alert was reported to authorities. Two F-16 jets were dispatched to escort the flight from Katowice to Athens, as it entered Greek airspace from North Macedonia, the officials added. 

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They also said the aircraft had earlier been escorted by Hungarian warplanes.

The aircraft landed at an isolated location at the Athens International Airport shortly before 16.00 GMT (9.30 pm IST), after a delay of nearly 2.5 hours, and was under inspection by a bomb disposal team.

"The passengers have disembarked and are being inspected. There were 190 people on board including the crew," Greek police spokesperson Constantia Dimoglidou told AFP on Sunday. As the plane approached Athens, it was diverted over the sea as a precautionary measure, the report added. 

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Piotr Adamczyk, public relations manager at Katowice airport, told the news agency that they received a telephone warning as the aircraft was flying over Slovakia. "After the plane took off, there was a call to the airport information centre concerning the possible presence of an explosive device on board," Adamczyk said, adding air traffic control was informed, which subsequently contacted the pilots. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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