Bomb threat hoaxes disrupt European flights, including Dublin to Rome service

Bomb threats disrupted more than a dozen flights across Europe on Thursday, November 5, forcing emergency landings and diversions and prompting fighter jet escorts in some cases. Authorities reported no hazardous or suspicious materials had been discovered. British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the incidents as “malicious hoax threats,” while officials said it remained unclear who was responsible or whether the threats were connected.

Speaking to reporters in Dublin, European Union Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was too early to determine whether the incidents were linked. National investigations were continuing, he said, and the EU had activated its mechanism for sharing aviation security information. Several flights had received similar threats earlier in the week, leading to searches and route changes.

An Aer Lingus service traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Evreux military air base in France, where it landed safely. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said he ordered fighter aircraft to intercept the flight because the pilot had not cooperated with authorities as expected. The office declined to elaborate. Bomb disposal teams examined the aircraft at the base, which was placed on high alert, and prosecutor Remi Coutin said the pilot and co-pilot were questioned.

A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome was intercepted by a Croatian fighter aircraft before Italian jets took over the escort, according to the two countries’ authorities. It landed safely in Rome. Finnair said that flight and a Helsinki to Vienna service operated by Jettime had faced unfounded bomb scares. The Vienna flight also reached its destination safely and was expected to resume service after inspection.

Three Ryanair flights heading to Sofia received military escorts and made emergency landings following threats. Services from Copenhagen and Madrid landed safely in Sofia, airport officials said. A flight from London was diverted to Plovdiv, where it also landed safely, according to the airport’s chief executive, Krassimir Peshev.

Checks on four aircraft in Prague found nothing, Czech police said. Inspections also found no hazardous or suspicious items aboard a LOT Polish Airlines service from Warsaw to Brussels. A Wizz Air flight from Milan landed safely in Bucharest, where checks found no bomb. An Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest resumed operations after a threat proved false, while a Warsaw-bound aircraft diverted to Vienna continued its journey after a search found nothing.

An email threatening Rome-bound flights was sent in the name of a group describing itself as anti-feminist, according to a copy reviewed by The Associated Press. An official at another European airport reported receiving a threat with similar language from a group using the same description. Both airport officials spoke anonymously because they lacked authorization to share the information. Whether the messages came from the same group was unclear.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels, said the threats tested government and airport responses and their coordination. He said the apparent aim was to create uncertainty about European air travel, with potential economic consequences. Coventry University aviation security visiting professor Philip Baum estimated that each disruption could cost an airline up to $250,000 through crew replacements, missed connections and other operational problems. Governments would bear military escort costs, he added.

The threats followed other disruptions in Europe, including drone incursions, amid warnings that Russia could increase hybrid threats. Responsibility for the aviation incidents remained unknown. At Rome’s airport, some unaffected passengers remained calm. Alessia Strada, a 19-year-old Italian returning from Kenya, said she was not afraid to fly, while traveler Michael Romano expressed concern about the prospect of war.