Over a dozen European flights diverted or checked after fresh wave of bomb threats
Authorities in France, Italy, and Bulgaria managed landings for targeted planes, with no explosives found in initial inspections.
By Lily Carter ·
A new wave of bomb threats forced more than a dozen flights across Europe to make emergency landings or undergo security checks on Thursday. The disruptions followed a string of similar hoax threats earlier in the week that already caused diversions and military escorts. So far, inspectors have not found suspicious items in any of the targeted aircraft.
French officials confirmed that a flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base in Evreux, Normandy. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office stated that all 151 passengers and six crew members were safe. Military bomb disposal teams began examining the plane immediately upon landing.
In Italy, a Finnair flight traveling from Helsinki to Rome arrived at Leonardo da Vinci airport around 9:30 a.m. The plane was escorted by Italian air force fighter jets. An airport official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said police bomb disposal experts completed their clearance procedures without finding explosives.
Bulgarian authorities managed three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia. Two planes, one departing from Copenhagen and the other from Madrid, landed at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. A third flight from London’s Stansted Airport was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city. Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev confirmed the plane landed safely.
Police in Lower Austria, Poland, and the Czech Republic also handled specific threats. A flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna after authorities received an abstract threat via mail. Nothing was found, and the plane continued to its destination. In Warsaw, a LOT flight to Paris was checked at Chopin Airport, causing a temporary runway closure. Czech police cleared four planes in Prague after similar reports.
A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest also landed safely after a threat. Airport spokesman Teo Postelnicu confirmed the incident. These events add to a period of increased disruptions in Europe, including drone incursions and attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems. Authorities have warned that hybrid threats are common in the current geopolitical environment.
