World

Bomb threat on flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna

By AAP Newswire

Oct 19, 2026

Capt. Smit Machchhar — Smit Machchhar was hailed a hero for averting disaster on a flydubai flight in September. -AP

A flight from Israel's capital of Tel Aviv has made an emergency landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia after a bomb threat.

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A Bulgarian state television report, citing a statement by the transportation ministry, said the flight to Vienna on Sunday carried 51 passengers and six crew members.

It said a crew member reported receiving the threat, and an air force fighter jet escorted the plane until it landed.

The broadcaster said the incident was being investigated. The airline was not identified.

Bulgaria's defence ministry said fighter jets responded after the threat was reported on the Airbus A320.

The incident comes a month after the captain of a flydubai flight was attacked by his co-pilot who intended to crash the plane.

Captain Smit Machchhar was ‌hailed as a hero for his role in averting disaster on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv in September, helping to thwart what the UAE attorney general has said was an attempted suicide attack by the co-pilot who intended to crash the plane into Ben Gurion Airport.