Austrian Airlines Flight OS82 Diverts to Sofia
An Airbus A320 operating an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Bulgaria following a reported bomb threat, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport.
Flight OS82 was near the Romanian border when the crew received the threat and decided to divert to Sofia, the Bulgarian capital, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said an air force MiG-29 fighter jet escorted the aircraft to Sofia Airport.
Passengers Disembark as Security Checks Begin
Initial information indicated that the aircraft was carrying six crew members and 51 passengers. All occupants had disembarked, according to the Bulgarian Transport Ministry.
Austrian Airlines told AFP that a security search of the aircraft was being conducted.
“Once the search of the aircraft is complete, the passengers will be rebooked onto alternative flights as quickly as possible,” the airline said.
The Bulgarian Transport Ministry confirmed that a crisis response team had been established and relevant authorities had launched an investigation into the incident.
Flight Tracking Data Shows Aircraft Diverted
According to aviation tracking platform FlightAware, Austrian Airlines flight OS82 departed Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport at 6:46 pm local time on Sunday and landed at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport at 9:43 pm, after approximately three hours.
Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft entering Romanian airspace at around 9:10 pm before turning south and heading back towards Bulgaria.
Data from ADS-B Exchange indicated that the aircraft was transmitting squawk code 7700 around the same time. The code is used to indicate a general emergency.
Previous Flydubai Incident Raises Aviation Security Concerns
The incident follows a separate aviation security case last month involving a Flydubai aircraft carrying 174 passengers from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv.
According to reports, a co-pilot allegedly attacked the pilot with an axe in an attempt to crash the aircraft. The plane reportedly descended by approximately 17,000 feet before other Flydubai pilots regained control after passengers and crew members subdued the alleged attacker.
The flight was diverted and made an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.
Authorities in the UAE said the co-pilot had allegedly been on a “suicide” mission to crash the aircraft at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The co-pilot, Hamam Al-Hammami, an Omani national, has since been charged with terrorism offences in the UAE.
Following the incident, the Israeli government ordered identity checks for all pilots flying into the country.
