Emergency landing after bomb threat on flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna

The plane was accompanied by an Air Force fighter

The flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna was diverted to land in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital, after what was described as a “bomb threat signal” by Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport and Communications.

As per information seen on tracking website FlightRadar24, the Austrian Airlines flight OS82, an A320 plane, was diverted to Sofia and landed at 8.42pm UTC (9.42pm UK) on Sunday.

The plane shortly after take-off, as seen on FlightRadar24

What the airline said following the bomb threat

“We can confirm that a threat was made against flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna, which necessitated a stopover in Sofia (SOF)”, Austrian Airlines told Sky News.

“The flight landed safely in SOF at 20:42 CEST. The aircraft in question - an Airbus A320 - is now being searched.”

“There were 51 passengers and 6 crew members on board. Once the aircraft has been searched, the passengers will be rebooked onto a prompt alternative flight.”

“The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority.”

The aircraft preparing to turn to Sofia's airport following the threat, as seen on FlightRadar24.

Earlier, the Bulgarian ministry said that “during the flight, on the border with Romania, the crew reported a bomb threat signal and decided to land in Sofia extraordinarily.”

The plane, as per authorities in Bulgaria, “was accompanied by an Air Force fighter according to the procedures”, until it landed in Sofia’s airport.

Meanwhile, the Bulgarian ministry added that “a working headquarters has been formed and the responsible institutions have started an inspection. Passengers were taken off board the aircraft.”

Last month, a hijack alert forced a Tel Aviv-bound flight to divert to Saudi Arabia after a violent row reportedly broke out between its pilots.