An Austrian Airlines flight traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna was forced to make an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday evening following a reported bomb threat. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 operating as flight OS82, landed safely in the Bulgarian capital with 51 passengers and six crew members on board, according to confirmation from the airline.
Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry stated that the flight crew received the warning while the plane was flying near the Romanian border, leading to the decision to divert. In response to the emergency, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry scrambled MiG-29 fighter jets to escort the aircraft to the airport.
Reports from the Israeli news website Ynet indicated that Austrian Airlines had received the warning from an Austrian citizen who was not on the aircraft. Passengers aboard the flight told the outlet they were informed of an anonymous threat that necessitated the change in course. Once the plane landed, passengers were disembarked, and Bulgarian authorities initiated security inspections of the aircraft.
Austrian Airlines, which is part of the Lufthansa Group, announced that passengers would be rebooked on alternative flights following the completion of the inspections. While Ynet reported that early indications suggested the threat could be a false alarm, authorities had not yet officially announced the findings of their investigation.
This incident follows a similar security scare involving a Delta Air Lines flight from New York that landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport last Tuesday. In that instance, passengers were evacuated and the aircraft was moved to an isolated area for inspection following an anonymous warning, which was later confirmed to be a false alarm.
