Dozen-plus flights hit by fake bomb alerts in Europe
Emergency landings and military jets escorted aircraft across the continent after a coordinated wave of hoax threats targeted Rome, Sofia, and other destinations.
By Justin Brooks ·
More than a dozen European flights faced bomb threats on Thursday, forcing emergency landings and military escorts in several cases. Authorities in the United Kingdom described the incidents as malicious hoaxes. No hazardous or suspicious materials were found on any of the affected aircraft.
The threats disrupted air travel across multiple countries. Italian air force fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome. Three Ryanair planes bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, also received military escorts and made emergency landings. Two of those flights originated in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Madrid, Spain, and landed safely in Sofia. A third flight from London diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second-largest city.
An Aer Lingus flight traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French military air base in Evreux. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered warplanes to intercept the aircraft because the pilot did not cooperate with authorities as expected. The plane landed safely at the base, which was placed on high alert. Military bomb disposal teams with dogs examined the aircraft, and a Red Cross vehicle remained nearby on the tarmac. French aviation security authorities opened an investigation, and regional prosecutor Remi Coutin said the pilot and co-pilot were being questioned.
Airport officials reviewed an email sent on behalf of a group identifying itself as anti-feminist. The message targeted Rome-bound planes. Another European airport official reported receiving a similar threat from a group using the same language. It remained unclear if the two threats came from the same entity. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the details publicly.
The cost of these disruptions falls on airlines and governments. Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University in England, estimated that each flight disruption could cost airlines up to $250,000. These expenses cover crew overtime, replacement crews, and missed passenger connections. Baum noted that military escorts incur additional costs that are borne by governments rather than airline carriers.
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said the threats serve to stress-test how European governments and airport officials respond. He suggested the goal is to sow chaos and uncertainty regarding the reliability of air traffic. Such disruptions can have cascading effects, including economic damage and the costs associated with inspecting and cleaning aircraft. Joji Waites, who heads flight safety at the British Airline Pilots' Association, said the industry uses proven mechanisms to handle such threats, including a red-amber-green color-coding system to grade threat levels.
Similar incidents occurred earlier in the week, affecting flights operated by Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air, and Ryanair. One plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after receiving a threat while in the air. On Thursday, Czech police searched four planes that landed in Prague after being targeted by bomb threats. They found nothing and stated they took precautions despite not finding the threats credible.
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its destination, where inspections found no suspicious items. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely in Bucharest after a threat, with checks turning up no bomb. A flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna after an email containing an abstract threat was sent to Polish authorities. Stefan Loidl, a police spokesperson in Lower Austria province, said nothing was found and the plane continued to Warsaw. He also mentioned an abstract threat to Vienna Airport concerning four other flights, but operations were not disrupted. Air Serbia reported a flight from Belgrade to Bucharest received a hoax threat. The plane landed, underwent checks, and resumed regular operations.
European Union Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas told reporters in Dublin that it was too early to draw conclusions on whether the incidents are linked. He stated that national investigations remain ongoing and that an EU information-sharing mechanism on aviation security had been activated. Britain's transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, told British broadcasters that flights across Europe have been hit by malicious hoax threats.
