The bomb threat to an Austrian Airlines plane, which made an emergency landing in Sofia, was made by an Austrian citizen who was not on board. This was reported by the newspaper “Haaretz“, citing information about the case.
Flight OS82 was operating from Tel Aviv to Vienna with an Airbus A320 aircraft. There were 51 passengers and six crew members on board. The bomb threat was received as the plane approached Romanian airspace, after which the crew changed course and requested an emergency landing in Sofia.
The plane was escorted to the Bulgarian capital by a MiG-29 fighter jet of the Bulgarian Air Force. Passengers were disembarked after a safe landing, and the search began about half an hour after receiving the threat. Data from the Flightradar24 platform shows that the plane, registration OE-LZE, entered Romanian airspace at around 9:10 p.m. before heading back south to Bulgaria.
Austrian Airlines said: “After the search is complete, passengers will be rerouted to alternative flights as soon as possible.“ The Bulgarian Ministry of Transport announced that a crisis headquarters had been formed and the competent authorities had launched an investigation.
The inspection did not reveal any danger
Later, the airline announced that the inspection of the aircraft, passengers and crew did not reveal any danger. The flight continued to Vienna that same evening with all passengers on board.
According to flight tracking data, the crew reported code 7700, which indicates a general emergency. The Ministry of Transport indicated that the signal was received during the flight, and the actions of the crew and Bulgarian services were taken according to established procedures.
Sources: focus-news.net, apnews.com, timesofisrael.com