Threat forces Israel to Austria flight into emergency landing
An Austrian Airlines flight from Israel to Austria has been 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 transport ministry 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 has confirmed a threat was made, without giving further details. A spokesperson told the AFP news agency 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.
Flight tracking data showed Austrian Airlines 82 left Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday evening before landing at Vasil Levski airport in Sofia three hours later.
Last week, Croatia and Germany both scrambled fighter jets after a commercial flight from the Greek holiday island of Corfu to the German city of Nuremberg accidentally sent out a hijacking alert.
The BBC has sought further comment from Lufthansa, the owner of Austrian Airlines.
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