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Bomb threat diverts Austrian Airlines' Tel Aviv–Vienna flight to Sofia under fighter-jet escort

News card from EXE Index. Headline: Bomb threat diverts Austrian Airlines' Tel Aviv–Vienna flight to Sofia under fighter-jet escort. File photo, October 7, 2026, by André Gerwing (CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons): a white Austrian Airlines Airbus A320 with a red-and-white tail, registration OE-LBU, taxiing at Zurich Airport; not the OS82 aircraft. Key facts: on Sunday Oct 18 the flight landed in Sofia at about 9:43 PM local time (2:43 PM ET); the crew of A320 flight OS82 reported a bomb-threat signal near the Romanian border; a Bulgarian Air Force fighter escorted it to landing, per the transport ministry; it landed safely with 51 passengers and 6 crew, the passengers were taken off and the plane was searched; no device has been confirmed found, Bulgaria is investigating and passengers are to be rebooked. Sources: Bulgarian Transport Ministry, ORF/APA, ynet, AP. exeindex.com/terrorism. Record dispatch:2026-10-18-bg-os82-bomb-threat. @exeindex.
News cardFILE photo, Oct 7, 2026: Austrian Airlines Airbus A320-214 OE-LBU at Zurich. Not the OS82 aircraft and not from Oct 18. Photo: André Gerwing, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 (file photo, cropped with overlays; card shares alike); card by EXE Index

Sun Oct 18: Austrian Airlines flight OS82 diverted to Sofia after a bomb-threat signal near the Romanian border. A Bulgarian Air Force fighter escorted the Tel Aviv–Vienna A320 to landing, Bulgaria's transport ministry said. It landed safely about 9:43 PM local (2:43 PM ET) with 51 passengers and 6 crew, 57 aboard; passengers were taken off and the plane was searched. No device confirmed found. Bulgarian authorities set up a working group and are checking; passengers are to be rebooked.

What
Bomb threat diverts Austrian Airlines' Tel Aviv–Vienna flight to Sofia under fighter-jet escort
Where
Europe, Bulgaria (BG) / Austria (AT) / Israel (IL)
When
Oct 18, 2026
Who
Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications (official), ORF / APA (Austrian Airlines confirmation), Ynetnews (Lufthansa Group statement)
Status
reported as stated

Sources

  1. Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications (official), 2026-10-18
  2. ORF / APA (Austrian Airlines confirmation), 2026-10-18 22:56 CEST
  3. Ynetnews (Lufthansa Group statement), 2026-10-18 20:19Z
  4. Ynetnews (passenger accounts), 2026-10-18 19:04Z
  5. AP via The Washington Post (BNT/transport ministry; defense ministry on fighter response), 2026-10-18 4:28 PM EDT

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