Austrian Air flight from TLV to Vienna makes emergency landing due to bomb threat

Bulgarian air force scrambles MiG-29 fighter jet to escort airliner after it issued an emergency squawk code; passengers evacuated and plane being searched, says airline

By AFP and ToI Staff Today, 2:33 am
Austrian Airlines planes stand at Vienna-Schwechat airport in Vienna, Austria. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)

A bomb threat against an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna on Sunday forced the plane to divert to Bulgaria, according to Bulgarian authorities and the airline.

The Austrian Airlines crew decided to make an emergency landing in Sofia after reportedly receiving a bomb threat as they neared Romania, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement, adding that the passengers were evacuated from the aircraft after landing.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that the threat came from an Austrian citizen who was not on board the flight.

The Bulgarian air force scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the airliner as part of established procedures, the transport ministry said.

The airline told AFP that 51 passengers and six crew were aboard the flight, and that a security search of the aircraft — an Airbus A320 — was launched after it safely landed in Sofia about a half hour after the threat.

“Once the search of the aircraft is complete, the passengers will be rebooked onto alternative flights as quickly as possible,” the airline said.

The plane reportedly was carrying a delegation of young people who were due to speak at the United Nations.

According to Flightradar24 data, the aircraft, registered OE-LZE, entered Romanian airspace at around 9:10 p.m. before turning south and heading back towards Bulgaria, where it landed in Sofia.

Data from another flight-tracking platform, ADS-B Exchange, indicates that the aircraft was transmitting squawk code 7700 — a signal for a general emergency — at around the same time.

The transport ministry said that a crisis response team had been set up and the relevant authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Airlines, in particular those traveling to Israel, are on high alert after last month the copilot of a flybubai flight headed to Tel Aviv from Dubai attacked the captain, planning to intentionally crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport, but was stopped by the captain, passengers and crew.

The incident has sparked calls for a closer look at Israel’s aviation safety regulations as well as accusations that Transportation Ministry authorities have long ignored warnings about the risks from foreign airlines flying into Israel.

Last week, a Delta flight that landed at Ben Gurion Airport was cleared after an anonymous report alleged that a “suspicious” device was on board.

Also last week, Croatia and Germany both scrambled fighter jets after a commercial flight from the Greek holiday island of Corfu to the German city of Nuremberg accidentally sent out a hijacking alert.

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