Austrian Airlines Flight Diverted to Bulgaria After Bomb Threat

An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was redirected to Bulgaria on Sunday when an emergency signal was received, causing a Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet to accompany the plane to Sofia. According to Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry, all 57 people on board the plane, including passengers and crew, were safely evacuated.

Austrian Airlines flight 82 carried 51 passengers and six crew members. After landing at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, the jet became the subject of a security search as the airline investigated the incident.

Austrian Airlines confirmed to AFP that the plane was being searched. Once the security checks were completed, the carrier stated that passengers will be transferred to alternative flights.

The Transport Ministry announced that Bulgarian authorities had established a crisis response team and launched an inquiry into the incident.

Austrian Airlines Flight Diverted After Emergency Signal

According to flight monitoring data, the aircraft departed Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday at 6:46 p.m. local time. It arrived at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport at 9:43 p.m., according to FlightAware.

Flightradar24 data showed the plane entering Romanian airspace about 9:10 p.m., then changing direction and headed south toward Bulgaria. According to the ADS-B Exchange, the aircraft transmitted squawk code 7700 about the same time.

Code 7700 is used to indicate a general emergency. The signal led the aircraft to divert, and a Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 escorted it to Sofia’s airport.

The reported incident concerned a probable bomb threat, however the available information did not indicate whether an explosive device was discovered. The airline’s security search was still ongoing, and officials had began probing the events surrounding the aircraft.

The immediate objective was to finish the aircraft inspection and book onwards travel for all on board. Austrian Airlines said alternative flights will be scheduled after the search was completed.

Austrian Airlines Incident Prompts Bulgaria Probe

The Bulgarian Transport Ministry verified that all passengers and crew members exited safely once the plane landed. In addition to managing the event, authorities activated a crisis response team.

The probe is likely to look into the events that led to the emergency signal and diversion. The ministry’s first publication, however, did not provide any additional results or conclusions.

The incident occurred weeks after a different aviation security case involving a Flydubai aeroplane bound for Tel Aviv. In that occasion, the co-pilot allegedly attacked the pilot with an axe, causing the plane to divert to Saudi Arabia and land safely.

Later, UAE authorities claimed that the co-pilot had plotted to crash the plane at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport. That was a separate case from the Austrian Airlines incident in Bulgaria.

For flight 82, the known circumstances are that the aircraft diverted to Sofia, received a fighter jet escort, and landed safely, with all 57 individuals able to exit the plane. The security inspection and Bulgarian inquiry will help to uncover more details about what happened.