Austrian Airlines flight to Vienna lands in Sofia on bomb threat; search finds no danger

TEL AVIV: Austrian Airlines has confirmed that flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna had to land in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, on 18 October 2026 because of a bomb threat. According to a statement issued by the airline on Monday, the search of the aircraft, passengers and crew found no danger of any kind.

According to Haaretz, the Airbus A320 carried 51 passengers and six crew members. The aircraft landed safely in Sofia at 8:42pm local time. After the security checks were completed, all passengers were boarded again and the flight left for Vienna. Haaretz reported that the threat was allegedly made by phone by an Austrian national who was not on the aircraft.

Lufthansa, the parent company of Austrian Airlines, also confirmed that a threat had been received and that the aircraft’s security had been checked. The airline had said earlier that passengers would be taken to their destination on another flight once the checks were complete.

According to the Bulgarian news agency BTA, the crew reported that the aircraft was nearing the Romanian border when they received the bomb threat. The Bulgarian air force then sent up MiG-29 fighter jets. Citing Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport, Sky News reported that the pilot asked for permission to make an emergency landing in Sofia, a fighter jet stayed with the flight until it landed, and passengers were taken off the aircraft during the search.

According to Reuters, the Lufthansa Group, Vienna Airport and Austria’s Interior Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The incident came after several recent air security incidents linked to Israel. Last week, a Delta Air Lines aircraft arriving at Ben Gurion Airport from the United States was searched after a report of a suspicious object. According to the Israel Airports Authority, the aircraft was taken to a separate parking area, the passengers disembarked safely and nothing unusual was found.

In addition, a serious security incident took place on 30 September on a flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying 174 people. According to the UAE’s state news agency, an Omani co-pilot attacked the captain in the cockpit with an emergency axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. According to the UAE Attorney General, he wanted to crash the aircraft into the terminal building at Ben Gurion Airport, but the captain foiled the attempt.