(Photo courtesy of Anadolu)
SOFIA, Bulgaria – An Austrian Airlines flight traveling from Israel to Vienna was forced to make an emergency landing in Bulgaria late Sunday following a bomb threat, prompting military fighter jets to escort the aircraft to safety.
The Airbus A320, operating as flight OS82 from Tel Aviv, landed safely at Sofia Airport with 51 passengers and six crew members aboard, Austrian Airlines confirmed.
According to Israeli news outlet Ynet, the airline received a warning from an Austrian citizen claiming that an explosive device was on board the aircraft shortly after it departed Israel.
The individual who made the threat was reportedly not among the passengers.
Travelers told the outlet they were informed of an anonymous bomb warning that required the plane to divert from its original route.
A delegation of young people scheduled to speak before the United Nations was reportedly among those on board.
Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry said the flight crew received the warning while the aircraft was near the Romanian border and subsequently decided to land in Sofia as a precaution.
The Bulgarian Defense Ministry confirmed that MiG-29 fighter jets were deployed to escort the passenger aircraft to the airport.
The military response was coordinated with NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Spain.
Upon landing, passengers were evacuated while Bulgarian security personnel conducted inspections of the aircraft to determine whether an explosive device was present.
Austrian Airlines, a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, said affected passengers would be accommodated on alternative flights following the completion of security procedures.
Initial reports suggested the bomb threat could have been a false alarm, although authorities had not released the official findings of their investigation.
The incident came days after a similar security alert involving a Delta Air Lines flight arriving from New York at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport.
That aircraft was moved to an isolated section of the airport after an anonymous bomb warning prompted the evacuation of passengers and security inspections.
Authorities later determined that the Delta Air Lines threat was a false alarm.
