Austrian Airlines flight from Israel makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat

An Austrian Airlines passenger jet flying from Israel to Vienna made an emergency landing at a Bulgarian airport Sunday (local time) after a bomb threat was reported on board.

Austrian Airlines Flight OS82 departed Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport at around 6:46 p.m. local time Sunday and was en route to Vienna when it diverted to Sofia Airport in Bulgaria, according to AFP and flight-tracking websites.

The Airbus A320 had 51 passengers and six crew members on board at the time.

Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport said in a statement that the crew reported a bomb threat as the aircraft approached Romanian airspace, prompting the decision to make an emergency landing. The Bulgarian Air Force scrambled fighter jets to escort the aircraft in accordance with airspace defense procedures, it added.

According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, the aircraft entered Romanian airspace about two hours after takeoff before suddenly turning south and landing at Sofia Airport.

The plane landed safely in Sofia about 30 minutes after the threat was reported and was immediately subjected to a security sweep, AFP reported.

The emergency landing comes weeks after a separate alarming incident involving a flydubai flight. On Sept. 30, a co-pilot on a flydubai aircraft traveling from Dubai to Tel Aviv attacked the captain with an emergency ax, seized control of the cockpit and attempted to bring down the plane before crew members and passengers subdued him.

The incident has sharply heightened tensions across the regional aviation industry.

UAE authorities recently announced that the co-pilot had attempted a terrorist attack.

UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi classified the incident as an attempted terrorist attack, saying the co-pilot attacked the captain with an emergency ax mid-flight in an attempt to seize control of the aircraft, according to the state news agency WAM.

US broadcaster ABC reported that the co-pilot admitted he had intended to deliberately crash the plane. The co-pilot was identified as Hammam Al-Hammami, a 29-year-old Omani national who was extradited to the UAE and is under investigation by local authorities.

Al-Hammami has been cooperating with UAE authorities and has stated that he intended to crash the aircraft in Israel.