Bomb threat forces Israel to Austria flight into emergency landing

An Austrian Airlines flight from Israel to Austria was forced to divert to Bulgaria after a reported bomb threat.

The Airbus A320 plane was travelling from Tel Aviv to Vienna on Sunday night but made an emergency landing in Sofia, where passengers were evacuated, the Bulgarian transport ministry said in a statement.

The Bulgarian air force scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the airliner, the statement said. No injuries have been reported and an investigation has begun.

It comes after a pilot attempted to hijack a Flydubai flight en route to Tel Aviv last month by attacking the captain, before the flight's crew and passengers overpowered him and landed the plane safely in Saudi Arabia.

Bulgarian and Israeli media reported that a bomb threat had been made.

Austrian Airlines confirmed a threat was made, without giving further details. A spokesperson told the BBC there were 51 passengers and six crew members on board the jet.

Authorities conducted a security search of the plane after it landed in Sofia, about 30 minutes from when the alert was first raised. It was over Romania when it diverted to Sofia.

Source: BBC News World RSS (Open Press / Full Text)