Plane makes emergency landing in Bulgaria following a bomb threat

An Austrian Airlines aircraft made an emergency landing whilst en route from Tel Aviv to Vienna. This followed a bomb threat. After a search of the aircraft revealed nothing, it was able to continue its flight. An Austrian Airlines aircraft en route from Tel Aviv in Israel to the Austrian capital, Vienna, made an emergency landing in Bulgaria following a bomb threat. The crew decided to land in the capital, Sofia, according to a statement from the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport. The passengers were taken to safety after landing. Following a search of the aircraft, the crew and all passengers, no dangerous items were found, reports the Reuters news agency. The flight was therefore able to continue after the search. There were 51 passengers and six crew members on board, Austrian Airlines told the AFP news agency. The Austrian authorities have since launched an investigation into the circumstances. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is now leading the investigation, Austria’s Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announced. It is still unclear who was behind the threat. Distress signal apparently transmitted According to Flightradar24, the aircraft entered Romanian airspace yesterday evening before turning south and flying back towards Bulgaria, eventually landing in Sofia. According to the flight data platform ADS-B Exchange, the aircraft transmitted a distress signal at the same time. According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport, the country’s air force dispatched a fighter jet to escort the commercial aircraft. The unscheduled landing is the latest in a series of similar threats against aircraft with links to Israel. Last week, according to the Jerusalem Post, two flights operated by the US airline Delta were affected by bomb threats, which turned out to be false alarms.