At least 11 commercial flights across Europe were diverted on Thursday after receiving bomb threats that authorities later determined to be unfounded. The affected flights originated from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw. The source of the threats has not been identified.
The scare follows a similar wave of threats against European flights on Tuesday, which the U.K. government described as “malicious hoax threats.”
Czech Police reported receiving a warning about an improvised explosive device allegedly placed on four aircraft heading to Prague. “Upon receiving a threat regarding the placement of an improvised explosive device on board 4 aircraft heading to Prague, we are preparing with colleagues from Prague Airport for their landing. We assess the relevance of the threats as low,” the force wrote on X. Subsequent inspections of the planes turned up nothing.
The incidents come as European officials have accused Russia and Iran of carrying out “hybrid attacks” and sabotage across the continent, allegations both Moscow and Tehran have denied, according to Reuters.
Flights Diverted Across the Continent
A flight from Dublin to Rome was redirected to a military air base in Evreux, in western France, after a bomb threat was called in, according to French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office. The plane landed safely, and all 151 passengers and six crew members disembarked without incident.
A LOT Polish Airlines flight traveling from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its scheduled destination, where inspectors found no hazardous or suspicious items, the airline confirmed.
A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely in the Romanian capital following a threat, according to airport spokesperson Teo Postelnicu.
Finnair confirmed that Flight 1761, traveling from Helsinki to Rome, was also targeted. Nothing was found after the plane landed in Italy.
Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, were forced into emergency landings over bomb threats. Two — one originating in Copenhagen and the other in Madrid — landed safely at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, according to airport officials. A third flight, traveling from London’s Stansted Airport to Sofia, was diverted and landed safely in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, according to Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev.
No explosives or dangerous materials were found on any of the diverted aircraft.
