{
  "id": 18631369,
  "title": "Race to find hoaxers behind Europe's flight disruption",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/race-to-find-hoaxers-behind-europes-flight-disruption",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-07T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2026/11/07/race-to-find-hoaxers-behind-europes-flight-disruption/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A coordinated campaign of hoax emails and bomb threats targeting European flights and airports has caused significant disruption to air travel across the continent. The threat, allegedly sent by someone identifying as \"Mikhail Andropov,\" warned of more to come and claimed responsibility for disrupting dozens of flights this week. The message to broadcasters in Ireland also claimed it was \"only the beginning\" and part of a \"near future\" campaign of paralyzing damage via anonymous bomb scares. The Irish government is investigating the source of the threats, which have also prompted supermarkets to halt operations and evacuate newsrooms as a precautionary measure. The campaign has been linked to Europe's support for Ukraine in its war against Russian forces, with accusations that Moscow is orchestrating \"hybrid\" disruptions. Russian officials have denied involvement, but the Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares suggested the incidents could constitute hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. The message sent from \"Mikhail Andropov\" promised systemic chaos, including attacks on airplanes, cruise ships, subway stations, and trains. Additionally, bomb threats claiming to be from \"fighters of the Male State,\" a far-right anti-feminist movement banned in Russia, have been sent to airlines and airports in Rome and Milan. However, the group's founder denies any involvement in the current incidents.",
  "summary": "One of the first glimpses of email threats causing security chaos in Europe has revealed a wide-reaching ambition to inflict paralysing damage via anonymous bomb scares. In its email to broadcasters in Ireland, references were made to the disruption facing dozens of flights this week, warning “this is only the beginning” and that the events were only a “small part of what awaits Europe in the…",
  "key_points": [
    "Coordinated hoax emails and bomb threats disrupted European flights and airports.",
    "Alleged sender, Mikhail Andropov, claimed responsibility and warned of more attacks.",
    "Spanish Foreign Minister linked incidents to Russia's hybrid aggression."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The wave of coordinated bomb threats signals a shift toward hybrid aggression that uses psychological warfare to paralyze essential European infrastructure and disrupt daily public life.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}