Austrian Airlines Flight from Tel Aviv Makes Emergency Landing in Bulgaria After Bomb Threat

An Austrian Airlines Airbus A320-200 flight traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna was forced to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria after a bomb threat was reported. The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport confirmed the incident on Sunday. The flight, identified as Austrian Airlines flight OS82, was near the Romanian border when the crew received the threat, prompting the decision to land in Sofia, the Bulgarian capital. According to the Ministry of Defence, an air force MiG-29 fighter jet escorted the aircraft to Sofia airport. The plane was carrying six crew members and 51 passengers, all of whom have safely disembarked. Austrian Airlines stated that a security search of the aircraft was conducted and that passengers would be rebooked onto alternative flights as soon as possible. A crisis response team has been established, and authorities have initiated an investigation into the incident. Flight tracking data from FlightAware indicates that Austrian Airlines 82 departed from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday at 6:46 PM local time and landed in Sofia approximately three hours later at 9:43 PM. Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft entering Romanian airspace before turning south towards Bulgaria. ADS-B Exchange data revealed the aircraft was transmitting squawk code 7700, a general emergency signal, around the time of the incident.

In a separate incident last month, a Flydubai plane with 174 passengers en route from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv was diverted to Saudi Arabia after a co-pilot allegedly attacked the pilot with an axe in an attempt to crash the plane. The aircraft experienced a significant altitude drop before other Flydubai pilots regained control, with passengers and crew subduing the alleged attacker. The flight made an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. UAE authorities stated the co-pilot, identified as Omani national Hamam Al-Hammami, was on a suicide mission. He has since been charged with terrorism offenses in the UAE. In response, the Israeli government ordered checks on all pilots flying into the country.