Nov 3, 7:01 PM
European Authorities Investigate Wave of False Bomb Threats Against Passenger Flights
Security inspections and fighter escorts were triggered across four countries after anonymous hoaxes targeted seven flights.
Seven passenger aircraft operating across European airspace have been subjected to emergency security searches and flight diversions following a series of anonymous bomb threats. Security authorities in Italy, Poland, Spain, and Bulgaria carried out inspections on the affected aircraft, two of which had departed from airports in the United Kingdom.
In Italy, police bomb disposal teams searched two Ryanair aircraft originating from Dublin and Lisbon after they landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport. The Italian Air Force deployed fighter aircraft to escort the Dublin flight until its arrival, according to local airport officials. In southern Spain, emergency services surrounded a Ryanair flight from Manchester upon its arrival in Murcia, where passengers were evacuated onto the runway while police teams inspected the cabin and baggage.
Air traffic in Poland was also affected when a flight from London Heathrow bound for Warsaw Chopin Airport was diverted to nearby Modlin Airport, causing a brief closure of the facility. A Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw landed as scheduled. Meanwhile, Bulgarian Transport Minister Georgi Peev confirmed that Sofia-bound flights from Bergamo and Dublin were targeted after border police received email warnings at 08:35 GMT regarding explosive devices on board.
The British government described the series of events as malicious hoax threats, adding that national security systems maintained established processes for handling potential disruptions. Authorities across several European countries are now co-operating to assess whether the pattern of threats represents a coordinated attempt to disturb regional air operations. The events follow an emergency landing in Budapest the previous day, where a Wizz Air flight from London Luton was escorted by a Hungarian military fighter jet.
All searches conducted by local law enforcement and bomb disposal units returned negative results, with no explosives found on any of the inspected planes. Police agencies and aviation safety regulators across the affected nations are continuing joint investigations into the origin of the false tip-offs.
Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com
