Europe Faces Wave of False Bomb Threats Targeting Flights

by · Greek City Times

At least 25 flights across Europe made unscheduled landings or received military fighter jet escorts by 15:30 Greek time on Friday after a third wave of false bomb threats this week disrupted air traffic.

Several aircraft stopped on the ground or returned to their departure airports, while passengers disembarked as authorities searched the planes. Authorities stressed that all flights landed safely.

Bulgaria

Three Ryanair aircraft flying from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted to Sofia received false bomb threats on Friday morning, a Bulgarian Transport Ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Two aircraft landed at their intended destination in Sofia, while the third, travelling from London Stansted, diverted to Plovdiv Airport, east of the capital.

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Bulgarian Interior Ministry officials searched all three aircraft but found no explosives, a ministry spokesperson told AFP.

Czech Republic

The Czech police said they began preparing for the arrival of four aircraft bound for Prague after receiving threats about improvised explosive devices on board.

“We believe these threats are unlikely to be credible. Nevertheless, we are not underestimating the situation and have implemented all necessary security measures, while seeking to minimise their impact on passengers and airport operations,” police said in a post on X late on Friday morning.

Italy

A morning Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to Évreux air base in France, French authorities announced.

Aer Lingus confirmed that flight EI402 “landed safely” and said it was working to transport passengers to their final destinations “as soon as possible”.

A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome also received a false bomb threat. Italian fighter jets escorted the aircraft to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, an airport authority spokesperson told AFP.

“Nothing unusual was found,” a Finnair spokesperson said.

Another Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna also received a false bomb threat, spokesperson Stena Tuunanen added.

Two Wizz Air flights departing from Milan Malpensa Airport in northern Italy also faced disruptions. One was heading to Bucharest and the other to Warsaw. The Warsaw-bound flight diverted to Vienna, the airline said in a statement.

Romania’s intelligence service confirmed that the Wizz Air flight from Milan landed safely in Bucharest. Italian media also reported the diversion of the Warsaw-bound flight to Vienna.

Spain and Other European Countries

Spanish authorities received three bomb threats by email within less than 20 minutes at around 9:00 local time. The threats concerned two Air Europa departures from Madrid to Paris and four incoming Iberia flights from Rome and Milan, Spain’s Civil Protection service said.

Two easyJet flights from Britain, one from Ireland and another from Greece landed as scheduled in Prague despite bomb threats.

A LOT flight from Warsaw also landed as scheduled in Brussels following a security alert, the Polish airline said.

In Denmark, a military bomb disposal unit searched two aircraft at Copenhagen Airport but found no devices, police reported.

Third Wave of Threats

On Monday, a Wizz Air flight from London’s Luton Airport to Sofia diverted following a bomb threat and made an emergency landing in Budapest.

On Tuesday, around 10 commercial flights across Europe received similar threats.

At least four alerts involved flights operated by Irish airline Ryanair. Two Warsaw-bound flights, one operated by Scandinavian airline SAS and the other by Poland’s LOT, also received threats. Another alert targeted a Wizz Air flight travelling from Bergamo, Italy, to Sofia.

Authorities searched all the aircraft after landing but found no suspicious devices.

A cruise ship also received a bomb threat on Tuesday.

The incidents come as cyberattacks by unidentified hackers targeted supermarket refrigerators in several European countries. Some experts suggest that the false bomb threats could form part of a similar pattern of low-cost, easily deniable attempts to cause disruption.

Anonymous Threats

Authorities have yet to establish the origin or motives behind the bomb threats. The incidents form part of a broader trend of increased hybrid attacks across Europe, which authorities and investigators have sometimes linked to Russia or Iran.

Eric Schouten, head of aviation security team Dyami, said most of the affected countries had supported Ukraine in its war against Russia’s invasion.

In the Czech Republic, Prague Airport received the threats by email, airport spokesperson Denisa Hejtmankova told AFP. She added that the messages came from anonymous email addresses.

During a parliamentary hearing in late October, France’s senior security official, Nicolas Roche, Secretary-General for Defence and National Security, highlighted the growing scale and diversity of hybrid attacks across Europe.

He cited sabotage, cyberattacks, drones and espionage among the activities authorities have observed.

“I see no reason why this type of attack should stop at our country’s borders today and not continue to affect us in the coming months,” he added.

(Source: AMNA)

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