Airlines

^{By Joe Singleton in Washington, DC}

Swiss intelligence officials thwarted a terrorist plan to attack an El Al aircraft at Geneva airport, say French and Swiss press reports.

The plot to strike an El Al aircraft in mid-December during takeoff using a rocket-propelled grenade launcher - commonly referred to as a man-portable air defense system (Manpads) - was engineered by an Algerian and an Libyan residing in Switzerland, say the reports.

El Al operates three weekly flights between Geneva and Tel Aviv using Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft.

Geneva was chosen because that the airport and its runways can be targeted easily from nearby mountains, note the reports.

El Al diverted its Geneva-bound flights for a week following the discovery of the plot, even though the carrier has reportedly installed missile countermeasures equipment on some its fleet of 35 Boeing 737, 747, 757 and 767 aircraft.

The incident was kept secret until today. Swiss intelligence officer Claude Kuvasi, who foiled the attack, reportedly approached the press. Kuvasi, who worked undercover in Geneva’s Islamic centre warned his minders about the plot on 12 December.  It is not known if Swiss police made any arrests involving the terror plot.

The Swiss Embassy in Washington, DC was not immediately available for comment. El Al and the Israeli Embassy to the USA also decline to comment on the incident.

This article originally appeared on Air Transport Intelligence, Flight's premium 24h news and data service.