An Austrian Airlines plane that was connecting between Tel Aviv (Israel) and Vienna (Austria) had to divert and make an emergency landing in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, after receiving a bomb threat during the flight. Flight OS82, an Airbus A320 with 51 passengers and six crew members on board, had departed from Ben Gurion Airport around 19:04 hours (local time).
When the aircraft was flying over the area near the border between Romania and Bulgaria, the crew was informed of the possible presence of a suspicious object and declared an international emergency using the transponder code Squawk 7700, according to "The Jerusalem Post".
According to a statement from the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense, released by the BTA news agency, the alert was registered at 21:17 hours (local time) within Bulgarian airspace. As a result, the country's Air Force activated several MiG-29 fighters as part of the "Air Policing" protection mission, in coordination with NATO's Combined Air Operations Center located at the Torrejón de Ardoz base (Spain).
The military fighters escorted the commercial plane to a safe landing at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport, where emergency teams and explosive ordnance disposal units were waiting in a secluded area to intervene immediately.
According to the Israeli media Ynet, the threat was reportedly made via a phone call to the authorities in Vienna by an Austrian citizen who was not on the aircraft. Initial investigations suggest it may have been a false alarm. All occupants, including a delegation of young people who were scheduled to give speeches at the United Nations, were evacuated without incident while security forces began searching the interior of the plane.
The Lufthansa group, parent company of Austrian Airlines, confirmed in a statement reported by the aforementioned media the diversion of the flight and assured that passengers will be rebooked on other alternative connections as soon as possible.
On the other hand, the Israeli Air Force specified that it has not participated nor has it been requested to intervene in the operation, as the incident occurred outside its airspace and vicinity.
This episode occurs after on September 30 a Flydubai plane covering the Dubai-Tel Aviv route suffered an attempted suicide terrorist attack in mid-flight, allegedly perpetrated by its own co-pilot, who unexpectedly attacked the commander with the emergency axe from the cockpit.