European flights face new wave of hoax bomb threats

European air traffic faced a second major disruption on Thursday as more than a dozen flights received bomb threats that forced emergency landings and military escorts. The incidents occurred in France, Italy, and Bulgaria, following a similar series of hoax alerts earlier in the week. No hazardous materials were found during inspections of the affected aircraft.

Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told British broadcasters that the flights were targeted by malicious hoax threats. The European Union’s Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated that any threats against civilians are unacceptable. He noted that the EU executive branch was in contact with affected member countries to coordinate the response.

Tzitzikostas told reporters in Dublin that it is too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked. National investigations remain ongoing. He confirmed that an EU level information sharing mechanism on aviation security had been activated. Officials said they do not have information yet on whether a cyberattack is involved.

A Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base in Evreux, Normandy. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said Italian authorities alerted France to the threat. A French warplane escorted the plane to the base. All 151 passengers and six crew members were safe. Military bomb disposal teams examined the plane while passengers were questioned in groups of ten. A Red Cross vehicle was present on the tarmac during the inspection.

Italian air force fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome after an email threat was received. The plane landed safely at Leonardo da Vinci airport at 9:30 a.m. Police bomb disposal experts inspected the aircraft and found no explosive materials. Finnair said the flight faced an unfounded hoax bomb scare. A second Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna also landed safely and was expected to return to service after checks.

Greece’s Aegean Airlines confirmed that two flights received bomb threats that proved to be hoaxes. One flight traveled from Thessaloniki to Milan and the other from Athens to Vienna. The airline said all security protocols were implemented. Both flights departed after it was confirmed that the threats were baseless. Czech police searched four other planes that landed in Prague after being targeted by bomb threats. They found nothing suspicious and said they took precautions despite not finding the threats credible.

A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its destination. Inspections found no hazardous or suspicious items. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely in Bucharest following a bomb threat. Airport spokesman Teo Postelnicu said checks turned up no threat and air traffic continued on schedule. A flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna after a mail to Polish authorities contained a vague threat. Police spokesperson Stefan Loidl said nothing was found and the plane continued to Warsaw.

Loidl said there was also a vague threat to Vienna Airport concerning four other flights. He declined to identify those flights but said operations were not disrupted. Polish authorities checked a LOT flight about to depart from Warsaw to Paris after a threat was reported at Chopin Airport. Airport spokesman Piotr Rudzki said no threat was ultimately identified. One runway at Chopin Airport was temporarily closed while authorities carried out standard security procedures.

Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings because of bomb threats on board. Two flights, one from Copenhagen and the other from Madrid, landed safely at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. The third flight, from London’s Stansted Airport to Sofia, was diverted and landed safely in Plovdiv. Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev confirmed the landing. The Ministry of Defense said fighter jets escorted the three planes through Bulgarian airspace.