Ammon News - An Austrian Airlines flight from ​Tel Aviv carrying 57 people was diverted to ‌the Bulgarian capital Sofia late on Sunday after a threat was made against the aircraft, an airline spokesperson told Reuters.

Austrian Airlines ​said the threat was made against flight OS82 ​from Tel Aviv to Vienna, which required a ⁠stopover in Sofia. The flight landed safely at 2042 ​CEST (1842 GMT), it said.

The Airbus A320 is being searched, ​and passengers will be rebooked onto an alternative flight once that is complete, the airline said. There were 51 passengers and ​six crew members aboard.

Data from air tracker Flightradar24 showed ​that the aircraft, registered OE-LZE, was set to leave Tel Aviv for ‌Vienna ⁠but was diverted to Sofia.
Sky News earlier reported, citing Bulgaria’s transport ministry, that the plane landed after a “bomb threat signal.”

“During the flight, on the border with ​Romania, the crew ​reported a ⁠bomb threat signal and decided to land in Sofia extraordinarily,” the ministry said, according to ​the report.

An Air Force fighter accompanied the ​plane ⁠until it landed in Sofia, with the passengers subsequently taken off the aircraft, the report added.

The ministry did not ⁠immediately ​respond to a Reuters request for ​comment.


Reuters