Searches of an Austrian Airlines aircraft, its passengers and crew in Sofia found no danger after a bomb threat forced the Tel Aviv–Vienna service to make an emergency diversion on Sunday, the airline said on Monday.
The crew decided to make an emergency landing in the Bulgarian capital after receiving a bomb threat as the aircraft neared Romania, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement on Sunday, adding that passengers were evacuated immediately after landing.
The Bulgarian air force scrambled a MiG-29 fighter jet to escort the airliner as part of established safety procedures, the ministry said.
The airline confirmed that 51 passengers and six crew members were aboard the flight, and that an extensive security sweep of the Airbus A320 began shortly after it landed in Sofia.