Bomb threats prompted airliners to land unexpectedly at airports around Europe on Thursday morning, according to CBC, marking the second round of such disruptions in a single week. Authorities in several countries responded with inspections and diversions, and no suspicious items were reported.
Czech police said on X that four aircraft bound for Prague had been flagged with threats, and officers were positioned for their arrival. The force rated the warnings as low in credibility but said it was still treating them seriously, CBC reports. All four planes were to be searched for explosive material once on the ground.
Why it matters
Thursday's disruptions follow a similar episode on Tuesday, when at least seven flights and a cruise ship received threats, causing problems at airports across the continent, according to CBC. No devices were found in that wave either.
The repetition matters beyond the immediate delays. European officials have accused Russia and Iran of carrying out what they call hybrid attacks and sabotage, though no government has tied either country to the bomb threats. Both Moscow and Tehran reject the allegations. The threats also arrived in the same week that unidentified hackers disabled refrigeration systems in supermarkets in multiple countries.
Bulgaria: three Ryanair jets land early
Bulgarian officials said three aircraft, all operating under the Ryanair name, made emergency landings because of the threats. Two of them — one flying from Copenhagen and another from Madrid — came down in Sofia, according to the country's interior minister, who spoke to broadcaster bTV. A third, arriving from London, landed at Plovdiv, local media reported.
Bulgaria's Transport Ministry told Reuters that operations at both airports had returned to normal after inspections turned up nothing of concern.
Prague-bound planes searched on arrival
The Czech response centred on four flights headed for the capital. Police said security measures had been switched on with limited effect on travellers and airport activity, and that pyrotechnic checks would follow each landing. The force described its assessment of the threats as low-credibility while stressing it was not dismissing them.
LOT flight inspected mid-air, then on the ground
Polish carrier LOT said its service from Warsaw to Brussels touched down at its destination as scheduled after a security warning, and that no threat was substantiated. A spokesperson said the crew was told about the potential risk to Flight LO235, carried out an onboard check under standard procedures and found nothing suspicious. On arrival at Brussels Airport, security staff ran a further inspection of the aircraft.
Aer Lingus jet diverted to France
Aer Lingus Flight EI402, travelling from Dublin to Rome, was sent instead to Evreux airbase roughly 100 kilometres west of Paris, the airline said in a statement. The Irish carrier described the move as a precaution and confirmed the plane landed safely. Al Jazeera also reported the diversion.
Two more flights reach Milan without incident
An Aegean Airlines service from Thessaloniki and a Ryanair flight from Porto were also affected, an airport source said. Both landed safely at Milan's Malpensa, their intended destination. Separately, a Finnair plane arriving from Helsinki was escorted by Italian military jets before landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport, CBC reports.
A pattern of disruption across essential services
The threats are unfolding alongside other disruptions. Drone incursions have repeatedly caused delays and cancellations at European airports. This week, hackers shut down fridges in supermarkets in several countries, spoiling food.
Eliran Almog, chief executive of aviation cybersecurity firm Cyviation, said the repeated warnings may serve a dual purpose: upsetting operations and giving attackers a view of how carriers, airports and governments react.
He linked the aviation threats to the supermarket cyberattacks, noting that different essential services are being disrupted in ways that cost money and can erode public confidence.
What to watch
Investigators have not identified who is behind the threats, and no device has been found in either this week's incidents or Tuesday's. Whether the warnings continue at the same pace — and whether any government formally attributes them — is the next signal to track.
