Around 20 flights targeted by hoax bomb threats, triggering fighter jet escorts and diversions across Europe.
Rome: Italian, French and Bulgarian fighter jets were scrambled on Thursday after around 20 commercial flights across Europe were targeted by hoax bomb threats for the third consecutive day.
No group has claimed responsibility for the threats. However, messages sent to airports in Rome and Sofia and reviewed by AFP contained misogynistic language and claimed to have been issued by “fighters of the Male State”.
A British airport also confirmed receiving a similar hoax threat, which identified the group as “Men’s State”.
The threats mainly targeted low-cost airlines and flights operating to or from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Italy.
Three flights were diverted, but all aircraft landed safely. No explosives were discovered.
Fighter jets escort flights as three aircraft are diverted
At least five flights received military escorts following the bomb threats.
Bulgaria’s air force escorted three Ryanair aircraft travelling to Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London. All three planes underwent security inspections, with no explosives found, an Interior Ministry spokesperson told AFP.
Meanwhile, French fighter jets intercepted an Aer Lingus flight travelling from Dublin to Rome and escorted it to the Evreux military airbase, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Paris, according to the French Prime Minister’s office.
The office said the Prime Minister immediately ordered fighter jets to intercept and escort the aircraft after the pilot failed to cooperate as expected with the authorities.
The Aer Lingus pilot had allegedly refused to land at the military airbase, preferring a civilian airport, Evreux prosecutor Remi Coutin told AFP.
However, the airline told AFP on Thursday evening that Aer Lingus and its pilots had fully cooperated with French authorities.
Two other flights were also diverted following the threats.
A Ryanair flight travelling from London to Sofia was rerouted to Plovdiv Airport, east of the Bulgarian capital, while a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna, the airlines confirmed.
Who is behind the threats?
An email sent to several addresses at Sofia Airport and reviewed by AFP claimed that explosive devices had been placed on three Ryanair flights bound for Bulgaria.
The message contained threats against passengers and airport authorities, claiming responsibility on behalf of a group calling itself the “Male State”.
Italy’s newspaper Il Corriere della Sera published an identical message, although the threats in that version targeted two flights heading to Rome. The emails had been sent to ADR, the company managing Rome’s airports, a source at the company confirmed to AFP.
Birmingham Airport in central England also received a hoax threat targeting flights operating at the airport.
A spokesperson said the message came from “Men’s State”, which appeared similar to the other threats.
Russia has a far-right movement known as Male State, although AFP said it could not immediately establish whether the organisation was connected to the incidents.
Lou Osborn, founder of Inpact, a non-governmental organisation that monitors clandestine Russian activities, told AFP that the group uses Nazi symbolism and has thousands of members.
Russian courts designated the movement an extremist organisation in 2021. It subsequently supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Osborn said the extent of the group’s connections with Russian authorities remained unclear.
Meanwhile, Prague Airport spokesperson Denisa Hejtmankova confirmed that the airport had received threatening emails from anonymous accounts.
European Union Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said on X that it was “too early to draw conclusions” about whether the reported incidents were connected.
European authorities have increasingly warned about hybrid attacks, some of which have been linked to Russia or Iran.
Most targeted flights land safely
Despite the threats, most of the aircraft targeted on Thursday reached their intended destinations without incident.
These included a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels, a Wizz Air service from Milan to Bucharest and an Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest.
In the Czech Republic, four flights operated by Ryanair, easyJet and Sky Express and heading to Prague also landed safely.
Danish police also confirmed that two aircraft targeted by threats landed safely at Copenhagen Airport as scheduled.
Authorities said there was no indication of any security risk. “Our assessment is that there is no danger, and there has never been any danger, to passengers or anyone else at the airport,” Copenhagen police told AFP.
London’s Heathrow Airport also confirmed receiving a threat but said it had been assessed as not credible.
Travellers voice concerns over aviation security
Passengers at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport expressed mixed reactions to the repeated threats and flight disruptions.
Brazilian traveller Natalia Lobo, 29, told AFP that the incidents had raised serious concerns about security across Europe, adding that she felt fearful while at the airport.
French traveller Ella Germain, 20, said the reports had caused only “a little bit of worry”.
Despite the incidents, the targeted aircraft accounted for only a small fraction of Europe’s overall air traffic on Thursday.
Around 25,072 flights were scheduled across the continent that day, according to Eurocontrol, Europe’s aviation safety body.
Earlier bomb threats targeted 10 flights
Thursday’s incidents followed two consecutive days of similar threats across Europe.
On Tuesday, 10 flights received bomb threats, all of which were later found to be hoaxes. The alerts led to the temporary closure of an airport in Warsaw and prompted Italian fighter jets to escort aircraft.
A day earlier, a Wizz Air flight travelling from London’s Luton Airport to Sofia was diverted following a bomb threat and made an emergency landing in Budapest.
European flight disruptions: Airports, airlines and routes affected
The following airports, airlines and routes were mentioned in connection with the incidents:
- Sofia Airport, Bulgaria: Three Ryanair flights from Madrid, Copenhagen and London received bomb threats and were escorted by Bulgarian fighter jets. The London-Sofia service was diverted to Plovdiv.
- Plovdiv Airport, Bulgaria: Received the diverted Ryanair flight from London.
- Rome airports, Italy: Threatening emails sent to ADR named two flights heading to Rome.
- Evreux military base, France: An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was escorted by French fighter jets and landed at the military base.
- Vienna Airport, Austria: Received a diverted Wizz Air flight travelling from Milan to Warsaw.
- Prague Airport, Czech Republic: Four targeted flights operated by Ryanair, easyJet and Sky Express landed safely.
- Copenhagen Airport, Denmark: Two aircraft targeted by threats landed as scheduled.
- Birmingham Airport, UK: Received a hoax threat targeting flights operating at the airport.
- Heathrow Airport, UK: Received a threat that was subsequently deemed not credible.
Other affected flights that landed safely
- LOT Polish Airlines: Warsaw–Brussels.
- Wizz Air: Milan–Bucharest.
- Air Serbia: Belgrade–Bucharest.
Key figures: Scale of Thursday’s disruption
- Around 20 commercial flights were targeted by hoax bomb threats.
- At least five flights received fighter jet escorts.
- Three flights were diverted.
- No explosives were found during the reported inspections.
- Around 25,072 flights were scheduled across Europe on Thursday, according to Eurocontrol.
Despite the security alerts, the targeted aircraft landed safely, with no reported explosives discovered.
