An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna diverted to Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday evening, October 18, after the airline received a bomb threat against the aircraft. Flight OS82, an Airbus A320, landed safely in the Bulgarian capital with 51 passengers and six crew on board, and the aircraft was then searched.
Austrian Airlines and its parent, Lufthansa Group, confirmed the diversion. No explosive device had been reported found in any official statement at the time of writing.
What happened on board
According to Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport and Communications, the crew reported receiving a bomb threat signal while flying near the border with Romania and decided to make an unscheduled landing in Sofia. In line with procedures, a Bulgarian Air Force fighter took off and escorted the airliner until it landed.
The aircraft touched down at 8:42 p.m. Central European Summer Time, Lufthansa Group said. Flight-tracking data identifies the A320 as OE-LZE.
"We confirm that there was a threat against flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna, which made an intermediate landing in Sofia necessary," an Austrian Airlines spokesperson told Austrian newspaper Der Standard. The airline said the safety of passengers and crew always has the highest priority.
Passengers told Israeli news site ynet that they had been informed of "an anonymous report of a bomb on the plane." Among those on board was a delegation of young people who were due to speak at the United Nations, ynet reported.
Search and rebooking
Bulgarian authorities said all passengers were taken off the aircraft, a working group was set up and the responsible institutions began checks. Lufthansa Group said the A320 was "undergoing security scans and upon completion of the scans, passengers will be rebooked on an alternative flight as soon as possible."
Israeli daily Haaretz, as cited by Austrian media, reported that the warning came from an Austrian citizen who was not on board the aircraft. Ynet later wrote that initial indications suggested the threat was a false alarm, but authorities had not issued a formal all-clear in the statements available, and the airline had not given details of the passengers' onward flight.
OS82 is a scheduled Austrian Airlines service from Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport to Vienna, the airline's hub and a connecting point to the wider Lufthansa Group network in Europe.
A pattern of threats against Israel flights
The diversion is the latest in a series of threats against flights linked to Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported that two Delta Air Lines flights from New York to Tel Aviv were hit by bomb threats the week before. Those turned out to be false alarms, according to the report.
Anonymous threats force crews into difficult decisions. Even when a threat is likely to be a hoax, airlines and authorities normally treat it as real until the aircraft has been searched, which means diverting to the nearest suitable airport, deplaning passengers and screening the cabin, hold and baggage. The process can take hours and leaves passengers waiting for a replacement aircraft or alternative flights.
Making a false bomb threat against an aircraft is a criminal offence in most countries, and the diversion of an international flight brings in police and security services in several jurisdictions. Bulgarian, Austrian and Israeli authorities have not said whether anyone has been identified or questioned over the OS82 threat.
What comes next
For Austrian Airlines, the immediate task is getting the 51 passengers to Vienna and returning the A320 to service once Bulgarian security checks are complete. The airline has said only that passengers will be rebooked quickly after the search.
Further details on the source of the threat and the outcome of the search are expected from Bulgarian authorities and the airline.
Sources: Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications (via BTA), Lufthansa Group and Austrian Airlines statements (via ynet, Der Standard and APA), AP.
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