Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv makes emergency landing after bomb threat
Quick Look
- An Austrian Airlines Airbus A320 flying from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday after the crew reported a bomb threat near the Bulgarian-Romanian border.
- The aircraft was escorted by a Bulgarian MiG-29 fighter jet, transmitted a squawk code 7700, and landed safely with 51 passengers and six crew members.
- A security search of the plane was conducted after evacuation, and passengers were to be rebooked on alternative flights.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The flight was en route from Tel Aviv to Vienna when the crew reported a bomb threat near the Bulgarian-Romanian border, prompting an emergency diversion to Sofia. This follows recent aviation security incidents, including a suspected cockpit attack on a Flydubai flight and a false hijacking alert involving a Greece-to-Germany flight that triggered fighter jet scrambles in Croatia and Germany.
An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Sofia on Sunday after a bomb threat, Bulgarian authorities said.
The Airbus A320 landed safely with 51 passengers and six crew members aboard after reportedly receiving a bomb threat near the Bulgarian-Romanian border.
"During the flight, on the border with Romania, the crew reported a bomb threat signal and decided to land in Sofia extraordinarily," the Bulgarian transport ministry said in a statement.
Fighter jet escorts plane
The Airbus A320 plane was flying from Tel Aviv for Vienna but was diverted to Sofia in Bulgaria at 9:25 p.m., air tracker Flightradar24 data showed.
Data from another flight-tracking platform, ADS-B Exchange, showed that the flight transmitted a squawk code 7700, a signal for a general emergency, around the time it was diverted.
A Bulgarian MiG-29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the aircraft.
Following the evacuation of passengers after landing, a security search of the plane was launched, Austrian Airlines said in a statement quoted by Austrian news agency APA.
"Once the search of the aircraft is complete, the passengers will be rebooked onto alternative flights as quickly as possible," the airline said.
Last month, the co-pilot of Flydubai flight was suspected of attacking his pilot in the cockpit, and attempting to hijack the plane and crash it intentionally in Israel.
Meanwhile, last week, an accidental hijacking alert from a commercial flight from the Corfu in Greece to the German city of Nuremberg caused both Croatia and Germany both to scrambled fighter jets.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Austrian Airlines will rebook affected passengers onto alternative flights once the aircraft security search is complete.
Very likely · Within hours
Open Questions
- What was the nature of the bomb threat signal reported by the crew?
- Was any explosive device found during the security search of the aircraft?
- Who made the bomb threat and what was their motive?
- Will there be any changes to flight security protocols following this incident?
