Austrian Airlines Flight Diverted to Sofia After Bomb Threat; Bulgarian Fighter Jet Escorts Plane, All 57 Aboard Disembark
SOFIA — An Austrian Airlines flight traveling from Israel to Austria made an emergency landing in Bulgaria on October 18 after a reported "threat," USA TODAY reported. An airline spokesperson told USA TODAY that flight OS82, traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna aboard an Airbus A320, diverted to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after a threat was made against the aircraft, landing safely at 8:42 p.m. CEST.
"We can confirm that a threat was made against flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna (TLV to VIE), which necessitated a stopover in Sofia (SOF)," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The aircraft in question ... is now being searched." There were 51 passengers and six crew members on board, according to the spokesperson, and passengers would be rebooked on an alternative flight after the aircraft search was completed. "The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority," the spokesperson added.
According to Al Jazeera, Bulgaria's Transport Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that flight OS82 was near the border with Romania when the crew received a bomb threat and decided to land in Sofia, and Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence said an air force MiG-29 fighter jet escorted the plane to Sofia airport. The Transport Ministry said all six crew members and 51 passengers had since disembarked, and AFP reported that a security search of the aircraft was conducted. The Transport Ministry said a crisis response team had been set up and the relevant authorities had launched an investigation into the incident. The BBC reported that no injuries had been reported.
On flight-tracking data, FlightAware recorded Austrian Airlines flight 82 departing Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at 6:46 p.m. local time (15:46 GMT) on Sunday and landing about three hours later at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia at 9:43 p.m. local time (18:43 GMT). Flightradar24 data showed the aircraft entered Romanian airspace at about 18:10 GMT before turning south toward Bulgaria, and ADS-B Exchange data indicated it was transmitting squawk code 7700, the signal for a general emergency, at around the same time.
USA TODAY noted the incident came just weeks after a flydubai co-pilot allegedly attacked that flight's captain with a crash axe in an apparent attempt to bring down the plane — a case GSM has covered in earlier reporting. The source of the threat against OS82 and the results of the search had not been officially released as of publication. (GSM, reporting from USA TODAY and Al Jazeera)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 奥地利航空空客A320（资料图，非涉事飞机、非现场图）。图片来源：Robbie Klinkenberg / Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0
