An Austrian Airlines plane traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna was forced to land in Bulgaria after the crew reported a bomb threat. The aircraft touched down safely in Sofia, and officials have started checking it.
Diverted over the Romanian border
The flight, OS82, was operated with an A320 aircraft. While it was flying near the border with Romania, the crew reported what Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications called a “bomb threat signal.” The crew decided to make an unscheduled landing in Sofia.
Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 shows the plane landed at 9.25pm UTC, according to Sky News.
Who was on board
Early information from the ministry put the number of people on the aircraft at 57. That figure is made up of six crew members and 51 passengers.
Fighter jet escort
Standard procedure was followed once the crew raised the alarm. A Bulgarian Air Force fighter took off and flew alongside the plane until it landed at Sofia airport.
Inspection under way
After the landing, the authorities set up a working headquarters, and the institutions responsible began an inspection. Passengers were taken off the aircraft.
The ministry’s statement did not say what the threat was, and nothing in the information provided points to what the inspection has found so far.
