Austrian Airlines flight OS82, traveling from Tel Aviv to Vienna, was diverted to Sofia on October 18, 2026, due to a bomb threat reported by the crew as the aircraft approached the Romanian border. The Bulgarian Air Force responded by scrambling MiG-29 fighter jets to escort the flight. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the threat was allegedly made by an Austrian national who was not on board, although the source of the threat remains unidentified.
Threat was reported to Vienna airport
During a press conference in Vienna, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed that an investigation is currently underway. He stated,
“This Austrian Airlines flight had to land in Sofia because of a threat that was made by telephone to Vienna airport,”
but did not provide further details.
Flight OS82 operates regularly from Tel Aviv to Vienna, with services scheduled twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. On the day of the incident, the flight was operated by a 13-year-old Airbus A320-200, registered as OE-LZE. The aircraft took off slightly late at 7:04 PM, compared to the planned departure time of 6:40 PM.
No danger was identified
The flight had a light load, carrying only 51 passengers and six crew members. It landed in Sofia at 9:42 PM local time and remained on the ground for over five hours while security checks were conducted. The aircraft resumed its journey at 2:54 AM local time on Monday.
In a statement released on Monday, the airline confirmed the bomb threat against flight OS82, which necessitated the diversion to Sofia. They assured that during the search of the aircraft, passengers, and crew, no danger was identified, and the flight continued to Vienna with all passengers after reboarding.
Multiple security incidents have occurred in the last month
This incident occurred less than three weeks after a co-pilot on a flyDubai flight bound for Israel attacked the captain with an axe in an attempt to crash the plane. The United Arab Emirates’ attorney general revealed that the Omani co-pilot had intended to hijack the September 30 Dubai-Tel Aviv flight and crash it into a terminal at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport in a suicide attack, but was prevented by the captain.
Simultaneously last week, both Croatia and Germany scrambled fighter jets after a radio malfunction on a Corendon Boeing 737 triggered a hijacking alert. Two Eurofighters escorted Flight XR456 to Nuremberg, temporarily closing the airport, while authorities conducted a thorough investigation and ensured that all safety protocols were followed before allowing normal operations to resume.
