European Airlines Divert Dozen Flights After Wave of Bomb Threats
Military jets escorted several aircraft to safety on Thursday as authorities investigated a coordinated series of hoax alerts targeting major hubs.
By Lorenzo Marshall ·
Travelers across Europe faced delays and diversions on Thursday after more than a dozen flights received bomb threats. The incidents prompted emergency landings and the deployment of military assets to escort aircraft to the ground. British officials described the events as malicious hoaxes, noting that no hazardous or suspicious materials were found during subsequent inspections.
An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base in Evreux, France. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office stated that warplanes intercepted the aircraft because the pilot did not cooperate with authorities as expected. The plane landed safely while the base remained on high alert. Explosive experts with dogs examined the aircraft on the tarmac, and a Red Cross vehicle was positioned nearby. French aviation security authorities opened an investigation, and regional prosecutor Remi Coutin confirmed that the pilot and co-pilot are being questioned.
Italian air force fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome after the airline received an email threat. Finnair confirmed that two of its flights faced unfounded hoax scares. A separate flight operated by Jettime from Helsinki to Vienna landed safely and was scheduled to return to service after inspection. Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, also received military escorts. Two aircraft from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia, while a third from London diverted to Plovdiv, according to Krassimir Peshev, the CEO of Plovdiv Airport.
Experts suggest the threats aim to create uncertainty about air traffic reliability. Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said the incidents are stress-testing government and airport responses. He noted that the goal appears to be sowing chaos, which could lead to economic damage and costs related to inspection and aircraft cleaning. Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University, estimated that each flight disruption could cost airlines up to $250,000. These costs include crew overtime, replacement staff, and missed passenger connections, which disrupt airline schedules for the remainder of the day.
Emails containing the threats were sent on behalf of a group describing itself as anti-feminist. An airport official in Rome and another in Europe provided copies to The Associated Press, noting similar language in the messages. It remains unclear if the same group sent all threats. Several flights operated by Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air, and Ryanair also received threats earlier in the week. A plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary during the previous week’s incidents.
Additional disruptions occurred on Thursday in Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest, Vienna, and Belgrade. Czech police searched four planes in Prague and found nothing. A LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels and a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest underwent inspections with no hazards found. A flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna after an abstract threat to Polish authorities. Air Serbia confirmed a flight from Belgrade to Bucharest received a hoax threat and resumed regular operations after checks.
Heidi Alexander, Britain’s transport secretary, told broadcasters that the flights were hit by malicious hoax threats. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Union’s transport commissioner, stated in Dublin that it was too early to determine if the incidents are linked. He added that national investigations are ongoing and that an EU information-sharing mechanism on aviation security has been activated.
