Fighter jets scrambled after ‘bomb threat’ to passenger plane
The Austrian Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Bulgaria after the threat. Photo: Unsplash
A flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna has made an emergency landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after a bomb threat.
A Bulgarian state television report, citing a statement by the transportation ministry, said 51 passengers and six crew were aboard Austrian Airlines flight OS82 on Sunday (local time).
It said a crew member reported receiving the threat while the Airbus A320 was near the Romanian border.
An air force fighter jet escorted the plane until it landed in Sofia.
The broadcaster said the incident was being investigated.
Bulgaria’s Ministry of Defence said MiG-29 fighter jets took off in accordance with procedures and escorted the passenger aircraft until it landed at Sofia Airport.
Bulgarian state TV said all those on board were taken off the plane while security teams searched it.
The incident comes a month after the captain of a flydubai flight was attacked by his co-pilot who intended to crash the plane.
Captain Smit Machchhar was hailed as a hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv in September. He helped to thwart what the UAE attorney general has said was an attempted suicide attack by the co-pilot, who intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport.
