More than a dozen passenger flights across Europe were affected by bomb threats on Thursday, prompting diversions, military escorts and aircraft searches in a second wave of disruption this week. Incidents were reported in several countries, including France, Italy, Bulgaria, Austria and the Czech Republic. No explosives had been found at the time of reporting, and authorities had not established whether the threats were connected or who was responsible.
An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to the military air base at Évreux in France. Its 151 passengers and six crew members were taken to safety while specialists examined the aircraft. A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome landed under escort by Italian fighter jets and was searched; a second Finnair service, bound for Vienna, also faced a threat and was inspected after landing.
Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia were targeted, with one diverted to Plovdiv. Other reported incidents included searches of aircraft in Prague, threats involving flights in Copenhagen and a Wizz Air service from Milan to Bucharest. Eurocontrol monitored the situation and coordinated with aviation stakeholders as investigations continued.
The latest alerts followed similar incidents earlier in the week, including a temporary closure of Warsaw airport on Tuesday. European aviation has also faced false threats in previous years, but no link between the current cases had been confirmed.