Bomb Threat on Board: Flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna Makes Emergency Landing at Sofia Airport (OVERVIEW)

A bomb threat made by phone to Vienna Airport was the reason for last night’s emergency landing in Sofia of a plane travelling from Tel Aviv to Vienna. Austrian authorities are investigating the incident.

The Austrian Airlines aircraft, carrying 51 passengers and six crew members, took off from Tel Aviv at 7.10 pm. While flying over Bulgaria, it received a bomb threat. The pilots turned back and headed for Sofia, escorted by a Bulgarian fighter jet. The plane landed at Vasil Levski Sofia Airport at 9.43 pm.

“A task force has been set up and the responsible institutions have begun checks. The passengers have disembarkd from the aircraft,” the Ministry of Transport and Communications said.

In a statement, the Austrian carrier said that during the inspection of the aircraft, passengers, and crew, no danger was found:

“No danger was identified during the inspection of the aircraft concerned, its passengers or crew. After re-boarding, all passengers continued their journey from Sofia to Vienna.”

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport confirmed that the plane took off at 2.54 am this morning. Austria’s Interior Minister also confirmed in Vienna that the bomb threat had been made by telephone, thanking his Bulgarian counterpart, Ivan Demerdzhiev, for the assistance provided by the authorities in Sofia.

Gerhard Karner, Austrian Interior Minister: “The domestic intelligence service is currently conducting a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident. Once again, Ivan, thank you for this close and excellent cooperation.”

The aircraft landed in Vienna in the early hours of this morning.