MiG-29s on duty were scrambled after an Airbus A320, operating Austrian Airlines flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna, reported a bomb threat in Bulgarian airspace. The plane was diverted and made an emergency landing at “Vasil Levski“ Airport in Sofia.
The alert was issued at 9:17 p.m., when the plane was near the border with Romania. “During the flight, at the border with Romania, the crew reported receiving a bomb threat and decided to make an emergency landing in Sofia“, the Ministry of Transport and Communications announced.
According to initial data, there were 51 passengers and six crew members on board. After landing, everyone left the plane, and a work headquarters was formed at the airport. The responsible institutions have begun an inspection of the machine.
The Air Force has activated on-duty forces and assets under the “Air Policing“ mission to protect the airspace. The actions were carried out in coordination with the NATO Joint Air Operations Center in Torrejon, Spain. MiG-29s escorted the passenger plane until it landed in Sofia.
Austrian Airlines has confirmed that a threat received against the flight forced the intermediate landing in Sofia. The company announced that the plane is being inspected, and passengers will be transferred to alternative flights after the inspection is completed.
At this time, there are no officially announced results of the inspection of the plane or confirmation of whether the signal was false. The flight remained at the airport in Sofia while the competent services carry out the necessary checks.
Sources: bta.bg, bntnews.bg, aljazeera.com