An Austrian Airlines Airbus A320 en route from Tel Aviv to Vienna was diverted to Sofia, Bulgaria, after a bomb threat was reported. The flight, carrying 51 passengers and six crew members, was forced to make an emergency landing in the Bulgarian capital, where passengers were safely evacuated, according to the Bulgarian Transport Ministry.
The ministry said a MiG‑29 fighter jet was scrambled to escort the airliner and that no injuries were reported. A security search of the aircraft was conducted shortly after the alert was raised, about 30 minutes after the plane was over Romania when it diverted to Sofia.
The incident follows a recent hijacking attempt on a Flydubai flight, where a pilot tried to seize control of the aircraft en route to Tel Aviv. In that case, the crew and passengers overpowered the hijacker and landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Austrian Airlines confirmed that a threat had been made but did not disclose further details. A spokesperson told AFP that the jet had 51 passengers and six crew on board. Flight‑tracking data shows the aircraft departed Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening and arrived at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia three hours later.
Similar security alerts have prompted fighter jets to scramble in other European countries recently, including Croatia and Germany after a flight from Corfu to Nuremberg issued a hijacking warning.
Lufthansa, the parent company of Austrian Airlines, has not yet commented on the incident. The Bulgarian authorities have begun an investigation into the threat.
