Russian Anti-Feminist Extremist Group Claims Bomb Threats Against Italy-Bound Flights

A far-right Russian anti-feminist extremist group calling itself the "Male State" has claimed responsibility for bomb threats made against two flights bound for Italy, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Thursday afternoon.

The group promotes patriarchy and Russian nationalism, operating mainly online even though it was banned inside Russia in 2021. According to ANSA, Rome Fiumicino Airport received an email earlier in the day titled "reporting a threat" and signed by the group.

"You are all complicit in a criminal conspiracy. We want to destroy you for this," the email read, according to the agency. "We, fighters of the Male State, will leave a mark on history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember it forever."

The message claimed explosives had been placed aboard Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin and Finnair flight AY1761 from Helsinki, warning that an "explosion will occur in 60 minutes" and ending with the line: "Your sky will be red today."

The office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the Aer Lingus flight was safely diverted to France's Evreux airbase, roughly 100 kilometers outside Paris. The Finnair flight was escorted by the Italian air force to its scheduled landing in Rome, a source close to the matter said.

The threat attributed to Male State came amid a broader wave of at least 25 hoax bomb threats that struck flights across Europe on Thursday, from Ireland to Bulgaria, the second such wave this week. Some aircraft were forced into unplanned landings, while fighter jets escorted or intercepted others.

No country has formally assigned blame for the threats, but they come as many European officials accuse Russia of orchestrating sabotage and "hybrid attacks," described as cheap, easily deniable operations not expected to provoke an armed response. Denmark, Poland and Romania, all affected by Thursday's disruptions, have previously accused Moscow directly, while Germany blamed Russia for an August attack on Leipzig airport. Britain has blamed Russia in the past but linked Iran to a suspected plot against a US air base. Both Russia and Iran deny any involvement.

Eric Schouten, head of the aviation security group Dyami, noted that most affected countries support Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion. He said the pattern fits a hybrid warfare scenario in which a country is attacked on multiple fronts, "from railways to supermarkets to blood banks, most recently," along with the energy, internet and aviation sectors.

Bulgaria's air force said its fighter jets escorted three airliners to the ground, with Ryanair flights from Copenhagen and Madrid landing in Sofia as planned while a London to Sofia service was diverted to Plovdiv. In Spain, the Guardia Civil said three emailed threats arrived in under 20 minutes, involving two Air Europa departures from Madrid to Paris and four inbound Iberia flights from Rome and Milan. Several aircraft in Madrid were halted or returned to their stands and passengers disembarked while planes were inspected.

Elsewhere, a LOT flight from Warsaw to Paris was stopped as it taxied for takeoff and passengers moved to another aircraft, while a flight from Cork, Ireland, was delayed 90 minutes after a threat. Police searched two planes at Copenhagen airport, and Italian media reported a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna. Two Easyjet flights from Britain, one flight from Ireland and one from Greece landed as scheduled in Prague after threats, as did a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna, a LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels, a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest, and an Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest.