An El Al Boeing 747-400 carrying 367 passengers to New York had to turn back to Ben Gurion Airport two hours after takeoff Monday because of a technical problem.

The original takeoff time was 1:00 AM, but a technical problem was discovered and the departure was delayed by four hours.

The El Al technical team thought it had solved the problem and the plane took off – but the problem then reappeared. It was decided to tun the plane around and return to the airport.

The plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport at around 9:00 AM.

El Al redirected the passengers to an alternative jet that was supposed to take off to New York at 11:00 AM.

“We apologize to the passengers for the inconvenience,” El Al said. “El Al sees flight safety as a paramount value and does not compromise on the subject, treating even small problems as serious ones.”