Oct 18 (Reuters) – An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv with 57 aboard made an emergency landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after a “bomb threat signal”, Sky news said on Sunday, citing the country’s transport ministry.
Austrian Airlines and the ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Data from air tracker Flightradar24 showed that an Airbus A320, registered OE-LZE, was set to leave Tel Aviv for Vienna at 6:40 pm but was diverted to Sofia at 9:25 pm.
There were six crew and 51 passengers on board, Sky added, citing initial details from the ministry.
“During the flight, on the border with Romania, the crew reported a bomb threat signal and decided to land in Sofia extraordinarily,” the ministry said in a statement.
An Air Force fighter accompanied the plane until it landed in Sofia, the ministry added, with the passengers subsequently taken off the aircraft.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Clarence Fernandez)
