Flight from Israel makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AP. Published On 18 Oct 202618 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Flightradar24 data indicated it entered Romanian airspace at concerning 9: 10pm (18: 10 GMT) before turning south and heading back towards Bulgaria.
• The flight was diverted and forced to create an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.
• Bulgaria's Ministry of Defence remarked an air force MiG-29 fighter jet escorted the plane to Sofia airport.
• Authorities in the UAE remarked the co-pilot was on a "suicide" mission to crash the plane at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
• Initial information indicated the aircraft carried six crew members and 51 passengers, all of whom have all since disembarked, according to the Transport Ministry's statement.

Notably, an Airbus A320 flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna has created an emergency landing in Bulgaria after a documented bomb threat, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport.

Austrian Airlines flight OS82 was near the border with Romania when the crew received a bomb threat and decided to land in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, the Transport Ministry remarked in an official note on Sunday.

For context, the airline informed the AFP news agency that a security search of the aircraft was conducted.

"Once the search of the aircraft is complete, the passengers will be rebooked onto alternative flights as quickly as possible, " the airline remarked.

In practice, a crisis response team has been set up, and relevant authorities have introduced an investigation into the incident, the Bulgarian Transport Ministry stated.

According to aviation and flight tracking site FlightAware, Austrian Airlines 82 left the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv on Sunday at 6: 46pm local time (15: 46 GMT) and landed regarding three hours afterwards at Vasil Levski airport in Sofia at 9: 43pm (18: 43 GMT).

Information from the flight-tracking platform ADS-B Exchange indicates the aircraft was transmitting squawk code 7700 – a signal for a general emergency – at around the same time.

Last month, a Flydubai plane carrying 174 passengers was on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Tel Aviv when a co-pilot allegedly attacked the pilot with an axe in an attempt to crash the plane.

Meanwhile, the aircraft plunged regarding 17, 000 feet (5, 180 metres) before it was brought back under control by other Flydubai pilots after passengers and other crew subdued the alleged attacker.

Meanwhile, the flight was diverted and forced to create an emergency landing at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Tabuk, northwestern Saudi Arabia.

In practice, the co-pilot, Hamam Al-Hammami, an Omani national, has since been charged with terrorism offences in the UAE.

Notably, the Israeli administration responded to the incident by ordering checks on the identities of all pilots flying into the country.

For now, flight from Israel makes emergency landing in Bulgaria after bomb threat remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.