The key facts

  • Austrian Airlines flight OS82 (Tel Aviv — Vienna) made an emergency landing in Sofia: 51 passengers, 6 crew members, no one was injured.
  • Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29s escorted the plane in coordination with a NATO center in Spain.
  • According to Ynet, the threat may, presumably, have been false, but the investigation is not complete.

Emergency landing in Sofia

An Airbus A320 of Austrian Airlines, operating flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna, made an emergency landing in Sofia overnight into Monday due to a bomb threat, Israeli media reported. The airline confirmed that there were 51 passengers and six crew members on board; the landing went safely.

Circumstances of the threat

According to the Israeli website Ynet, Austrian Airlines received a warning from an Austrian citizen who claimed there was a bomb on board, already after departure from Israel. The person who reported it, the outlet notes, was not on board. Passengers told Ynet that they were informed of an anonymous threat, because of which the flight changed its route. Among the passengers, according to Ynet, was a delegation of young people who were to perform at the UN.

Actions of the Bulgarian authorities

Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport said the crew reported receiving a warning while flying near the Romanian border and decided to proceed to Sofia. Bulgaria's Ministry of Defense stated that MiG-29 fighter jets were scrambled to escort the plane to the airport in an operation coordinated with the NATO Combined Air Operations Center in Spain.

Inspection and status of the threat

After landing, the passengers were evacuated, and the Bulgarian authorities began inspecting the aircraft. Austrian Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group, said passengers would be rebooked on alternative flights after the inspections. Ynet noted that preliminary data indicated a possible false alarm, but the results of the investigation have not been officially announced.

Similar incident a week earlier

The incident occurred after a similar alert on board a Delta Air Lines flight from New York, which landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel last Tuesday. Then, after an anonymous warning, passengers were evacuated and the plane was moved to an isolated area for inspection; the check confirmed that the threat was false.