Bulgarian MiG-29s scrambled to escort three aircraft after bomb threats

Bulgarian MiG-29s from the 3rd Air Base at Graf Ignatievo took off at 10:11 on 5 November 2026 to intercept and escort passenger aircraft bound for Bulgaria. This was stated in a Ministry of Defence Information Centre announcement published by Armymedia.bg, citing af.armf.bg/bg as its source. According to the announcement, the scramble followed three reports of bomb threats. So far, the information comes solely from this official account. At the time of publication, Flank has found no independent confirmation. This is a developing story and further information may be added.

Air Force outlines standard procedures for such missions

According to the Bulgarian Air Force, one of the passenger aircraft landed at Plovdiv Airport and the other two at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia. The Air Force describes the air policing mission as successfully completed.

As the Air Force explains in its announcement, in such cases NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre orders Bulgarian fighters on quick reaction alert to locate, identify and escort the aircraft concerned. The specific chain of command for this mission is not described.

The stated take-off time does not allow the response time to be calculated, as the time when the reports were received has not been disclosed. The number of fighters scrambled, the sequence of interceptions and the duration of the escort have not been specified either. The three reports therefore do not, in themselves, prove that three simultaneous interceptions took place.

Searches must establish whether there was a genuine threat

Scrambling fighters is a response to a reported threat, not proof that there was a bomb on board. There is no confirmation so far of whether an explosive device was found on any of the three aircraft. The Air Force announcement does not identify the airlines, flight numbers, number of passengers or the results of the searches after landing.

It has not been publicly established who is behind the threats or whether they are connected. The number of reports alone is not sufficient to conclude that this was a coordinated campaign. Assessing the actual danger requires the results of the searches on the ground and identification of the source of the reports. This is a separate issue from the Air Force’s announcement that the air mission was successfully completed.