An Austrian Airlines flight travelling from Israel to Austria made an emergency landing in Bulgaria on Sunday night following a reported bomb threat, prompting the evacuation of passengers and a security search of the aircraft.
The Airbus A320 was flying from Tel Aviv to Vienna when it was diverted to Sofia, the Bulgarian capital.
The country’s transport ministry confirmed the emergency landing, adding that the Bulgarian air force deployed a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the aircraft.
No injuries were reported, while an investigation into the incident has commenced.
Austrian Airlines confirmed that a threat had been made but did not disclose further details.
According to the AFP news agency, a spokesperson for the airline said 51 passengers and six crew members were aboard the aircraft.
Bulgarian and Israeli media reported that the incident involved a bomb threat.
Authorities began searching the plane for security purposes after it landed in Sofia, approximately 30 minutes after the alert was first raised.
Flight-tracking data showed that Austrian Airlines flight 82 departed Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening and landed at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia about three hours later.
The aircraft was flying over Romania when it was diverted to the Bulgarian capital.
The incident comes weeks after an attempted hijacking involving a Flydubai flight travelling to Tel Aviv.
In that incident, a co-pilot allegedly attacked the captain, but the crew and passengers overpowered him before the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia.
Last week, Croatia and Germany also scrambled fighter jets after a commercial flight travelling from the Greek island of Corfu to Nuremberg, Germany, accidentally transmitted a hijacking alert.
The BBC said it had contacted Lufthansa, the parent company of Austrian Airlines, for further comments on the latest incident.
