Austrian Airlines Flight OS82, an Airbus A320 operating from Tel Aviv to Vienna, diverted to Sofia on 18 October after a reported bomb threat during the flight. Bulgarian MiG-29 fighters escorted the aircraft to Sofia Airport, where it landed safely at approximately 20:42 local time. Searches found no danger, and the aircraft later resumed its journey to Vienna with all 51 passengers and six crew members aboard.
The crew reported the threat while approaching the Romanian border and decided to make an emergency landing in Sofia. Bulgaria activated standby air-policing assets and coordinated the response with NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon, Spain.
Passengers were taken off the aircraft while Bulgarian authorities inspected the A320, its occupants and crew. After the searches were completed, passengers reboarded and OS82 continued to Vienna later that night.
Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said the threat had been made by telephone to Vienna Airport, while Bulgarian authorities established a crisis-response team and opened an investigation. Available reporting does not identify the caller or establish whether the threat was credible; no explosive danger was found.