Photo: Pascal Meier / Unsplash (illustrative archive)
Updated November 3, 2026: Earlier reporting identified a flight from Israel and described a forced landing. Bulgarian National Radio’s updated account identifies flights from Bergamo and Dublin, and Bulgarian authorities say neither was diverted. This article has been expanded and its headline corrected; the original Jerusalem Post flash is preserved below as initial reporting.
Two passenger aircraft arriving at Sofia Airport from Bergamo, Italy, and Dublin were searched after emailed bomb threats on Tuesday, with no explosives found, according to Bulgarian officials quoted by Bulgarian National Radio’s updated report.
Transport Minister Georgi Peev said the threats concerned the two Sofia-bound flights and that searches found nothing suspicious. Interior Ministry Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov said the threats had arrived by email, BNR reported.
Bulgarian Border Police later said the threats against both aircraft were contained in a single email received at about 10:35 a.m., according to Vesti’s report quoting the agency. The times in that account are Bulgarian local time.
The Bergamo flight landed at 11:10 a.m. and underwent a full inspection, which found no bomb. The Dublin flight landed at 1:30 p.m.; its inspection ended at 2:50 p.m., also without finding an explosive device, Border Police said.
Peev said the aircraft were not diverted to another airport and that all institutions followed the established security procedures. He urged the public to remain calm, according to Vesti.
The updated account changes the flight-origin information in the initial Reuters report carried by The Jerusalem Post. That early flash identified the aircraft as arriving from Israel and said specialist counter-terrorism officers were checking it. BNR’s later report names Bergamo and Dublin instead.
Tuesday’s searches were separate from a bomb threat involving a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia on Monday. That aircraft was diverted to Budapest and continued to Sofia after security checks, BNR reported. Nikolov said investigators were still working to identify the sender of Monday’s threat.
Initial Jerusalem Post report
A plane flying from Israel landed at Sofia airport after a bomb threat was received by email, local media reported on Tuesday.
Counter-terrorism units were checking the plane for possible explosive devices, BTA news agency quoted Interior Minister Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov as saying.
This is a developing story.
Originally published by The Jerusalem Post. The initial source text above is retained unchanged for transparency; the corrected current account appears at the top.
JBizNews Desk | Sofia
© JBizNews.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is strictly prohibited.
