Overview
- Flight OS82 from Tel Aviv to Vienna declared a general emergency and diverted to Sofia on Sunday, Oct. 18, after a telephone bomb threat prompted the crew to descend and request an unscheduled landing.
- Bulgaria scrambled a MiG‑29 fighter jet to escort the Airbus A320 to Sofia where passengers were deplaned to a remote stand and emergency teams began inspections.
- Security teams conducted systematic checks of the aircraft, passengers and crew and found no explosive device, after which the passengers reboarded and the flight continued to Vienna.
- Austrian and Bulgarian officials said the threat was phoned to Vienna Airport and that an investigation into the call’s origin is ongoing as authorities coordinate cross‑border inquiries.
- The diversion joins a string of recent anonymous threats and last month’s attempted attack on a Tel Aviv‑bound flight, a pattern that has prompted new crew‑screening measures and heightened security for Israel‑linked routes.