Fighter jet escorts, flight diversions: What we know about Europe’s wave of hoax bomb threats
No clear pattern has emerged among the airlines and airports targeted, although a significant number of the affected flights either departed or were bound for Italy. CNA looks at what we know so far.
At least five flights across Europe received bomb threats, prompting at least five air force escort missions. Bulgaria's air force escorted three Ryanair planes from Madrid, Copenhagen, and London to Sofia, while French fighters escorted an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome. The French prime minister's office reported that the pilot initially refused to land at Evreux military base, instead landing at a civilian airport.
Ryanair flights from London to Sofia and Milan to Warsaw were diverted to Plovdiv Airport and Vienna, respectively. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was re-routed to Vienna.
The bomb threat message claimed that explosive devices had been placed on three Ryanair flights headed for Bulgaria, urging recipients to join a criminal conspiracy and leave a mark in history. The message was received by multiple email addresses for Sofia Airport.
Similar hoax threats were sent to the company managing Rome's airports, and a British airport received a similar threat, identifying the group as Men's State. The hoaxes primarily targeted low-cost carriers and flights to or from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Italy. Three flights were diverted, but all landed safely without explosives found. EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas stated that it was too early to draw conclusions on whether the incidents were linked.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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