Bomb threat on a passenger plane, at the border with Romania / A plane flying on the Tel Aviv–Vienna route made an emergency landing in Bulgaria

An Austrian Airlines plane operating flight OS82 on Sunday from Tel Aviv to Vienna was diverted to Sofia Airport after the crew received a bomb threat. The aircraft, an Airbus A320 carrying 57 people, was near the border between Bulgaria and Romania and landed safely in Sofia.

There were 51 passengers and six crew members on board. According to Flightradar24 data, the plane entered Romanian airspace at around 9:10 p.m., after which it changed direction. The pilots activated the emergency code to inform air traffic controllers that the aircraft was facing a critical situation.

The Bulgarian Air Force sent a MiG-29 fighter jet, which escorted the aircraft until it landed at 9:42 p.m. Romanian time. The intervention was carried out as part of NATO’s air-policing mission, in coordination with the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón, Spain.

The passengers and crew were evacuated, and the aircraft was checked to determine whether an explosive device was on board. Austrian Airlines announced that the passengers would be transferred to other flights after the checks were completed. Bulgarian authorities have launched an investigation.