14 European flights hit by hoax bomb threats in 3 days

Within a span of three days, 14 European flights suffered hoax bomb threats, authorities and airlines reported. The malicious alerts primarily targeted low-cost carriers and flights to or from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Italy. Italian military jets guided a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome, while French fighters escorted an Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome flight to a base near Paris.

Bulgaria's air force escorted three planes under threat. Ultimately, all flights returned safely, with no explosives discovered. Over 20 such hoaxes have been reported this week, with Ryanair suffering at least seven. On a Dublin-Rome flight, French authorities rerouted the plane to Plovdiv Airport after receiving a bomb threat.

Three Ryanair planes, headed from Madrid, Copenhagen, and London Stansted to Sofia, were similarly targeted. All three were escorted by fighter jets and later inspected, with no explosives found. Finnair experienced a similar incident, with one of its flights escorted and checked before landing in Rome. Meanwhile, Wizz Air faced threats on flights from Milan to Warsaw, Warsaw to Bucharest, and a diversion in Budapest.

Czech police deemed the threats against Prague-bound planes low credibility, while Copenhagen police assured passengers that their airport posed no danger. The origin and motives behind these hoaxes remain unknown, occurring amidst an increase in hybrid attacks in Europe, sometimes attributed to Russia or Iran.