More than 15 passenger flights across Europe were disrupted by bomb threats on Thursday, November 5, forcing several aircraft to divert, make emergency landings or receive military escorts.
The incidents affected flights operated by Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Finnair and LOT Polish Airlines, with alerts reported across countries including France, Italy, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Finland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. All affected aircraft landed safely, while inspections carried out so far have found no explosives or suspicious materials.
One of the major incidents involved an Aer Lingus flight travelling from Dublin to Rome, which was diverted to the Évreux military airbase in northern France after a bomb threat. The aircraft landed safely with 151 passengers and six crew members on board, while military bomb disposal teams examined it.
Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, also received threats. Two, from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed in Sofia, while another from London was diverted to Plovdiv. Bulgarian authorities said inspections found no security issues and airport operations later returned to normal.
Italian fighter jets also escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome after a threat was reported, while other aircraft were subjected to security checks in Prague, Vienna, Brussels and Milan.
Britain’s Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, described the incidents as “malicious hoax threats”, adding that authorities had established procedures for handling such warnings.
European Union Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was too early to determine whether the incidents were connected, confirming that an EU aviation security information-sharing mechanism had been activated as investigations continued.
The latest disruption follows similar bomb alerts earlier in the week, which affected at least seven flights and briefly disrupted operations at an airport near Warsaw, Poland.
The incidents have raised concerns about possible coordinated attempts to disrupt European transport infrastructure amid wider geopolitical tensions. However, authorities have not identified those responsible or established a link between the threats and other reported disruptions across the continent.
Source: tribuneonlineng.com
FOLLOW US ON:
