European flights scramble as wave of bomb threats forces emergency landings
Authorities report no explosives found after diversions from Dublin, Helsinki, and Warsaw disrupt travel across the continent.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
A string of emergency landings swept across Europe on Thursday as airlines responded to a new wave of bomb threats.
More than a dozen flights were targeted, with aircraft originating from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, and Warsaw. Most planes were diverted to alternative airports for safety checks, while others landed at their original destinations after inspections. Officials confirmed that searches have not yet revealed any hazardous or suspicious materials.
This surge follows a similar series of hoax threats earlier in the week. Those initial incidents forced security teams to search planes, reroute flights, and in one instance, provide a military escort to a commercial jet. The current activity adds to a period of heightened operational stress for European aviation.
The disruptions began in the morning with a Finnair flight traveling from Helsinki to Rome. The plane landed at Leonardo da Vinci airport at approximately 9:30 a.m. Italian air force fighter jets escorted the aircraft to the runway. An airport official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that police bomb disposal experts completed their clearance procedures without finding explosives. The official noted that an emailed threat had triggered the response.
In France, the prime minister’s office announced that a flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base. The plane landed safely at the base in Evreux, located in Normandy. The office reported that all 151 passengers and six crew members were safe. Military bomb disposal teams immediately began examining the aircraft. The office stated it was monitoring the situation in real time but released no further details at the time of the report.
Police in the Czech Republic cleared four additional planes that landed in Prague after receiving bomb threats. Authorities did not specify the cities of origin for these flights. Meanwhile, Stefan Loidl, a police spokesperson in Lower Austria, said a flight to Warsaw landed in Vienna after Polish authorities received a mail containing an abstract threat. The plane was cleared and continued to Warsaw. Loidl also noted that four other flights faced abstract threats regarding Vienna Airport, but airport operations were not disrupted.
At Warsaw’s Chopin Airport, a LOT flight bound for Paris was checked before departure after a threat was reported. Piotr Rudzki, the airport spokesman, said no threat was ultimately identified. One runway was closed temporarily while standard security procedures were carried out. A separate LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its destination, where inspections found no suspicious items, according to the airline.
Three Ryanair flights heading to Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings due to threats on board. Two aircraft, one from Copenhagen and one from Madrid, landed safely at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. A third flight, traveling from London’s Stansted Airport, was diverted to Plovdiv. Krassimir Peshev, the CEO of Plovdiv Airport, confirmed the plane landed safely at the city’s airport. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest also landed safely in Bucharest following a bomb threat, according to airport spokesman Teo Postelnicu.
Earlier this week, several flights operated by Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air, and Ryanair faced similar hoax threats. One plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after receiving a threat while in the air. No injuries were reported in those earlier incidents.
