What we know
• Bomb threats forced the diversion of a series of flights across Europe on Thursday, just two days after at least seven flights received similar threats.
• In one incident, a Finnair flight from Helsinki was escorted by Italian air force fighter jets to Rome Fiumicino Airport after receiving a threat, a spokesperson for the airport told CNN.
• No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s threats and nor were any explosive devices found.
Updates
(10)Bomb threat came in an anonymous email to Prague and other airports
A representative of the Václav Havel Airport in Prague told CNN the threats it received about bombs being placed on four flights were made in an anonymous email.
A Czech Police spokesperson told CNN the email was addressed to the airport, adding that similar emails were sent to other airports in Europe.
The Prague airport immediately contacted emergency services and convened a meeting of its crisis committee.
Neither the airport representative nor the police said which language the email was written in.
Flight safely evacuated in Bucharest following bomb threat
In another incident, almost 200 passengers were evacuated from a Wizz Air flight after it landed safely in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday morning local time following a bomb threat, bringing the total to at least 14.
Romania’s intelligence agency said the aircraft, which departed from Milan, has been checked and no explosives found, Reuters reported.
Italian police perform bomb checks after two flights rerouted to Milan, airport says
Two planes from European cities were diverted to Malpensa Airport in Milan, in Italy on Thursday following bomb threats, according to airport officials.
Italian border police were carrying out “bomb checks” on both planes, the airport said in a statement. One Aegean Airlines flight had set off from Thessaloniki, northern Greece, while the other was a Ryanair flight from the city of Porto, northern Portugal.
Czech Police terror and cybercrime squad to investigate bomb threats
The Czech National Center against Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime, a specialized unit of the Czech Police, is taking over the investigation into the threats made against four airplanes headed to Prague.
Czech authorities are in contact with their international partners, Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar said on X.
Plane rerouted to Normandy seen on air base runway
A plane rerouted a flight from Dublin to Rome following a bomb threat is now at the Evreux air base in Normandy.
The plane “landed safely,” according to the Irish carrier, Aer Lingus.
About 151 passengers and six crew members were “being moved to safety” following the “bomb threat,” the French prime minister’s office said.
There’s no word yet whether there was a bomb on board but other national authorities say the threats they received were hoaxes.
No claim of responsibility for threats but experts say they could be part of a pattern
Much is unknown about the latest threats to flights - no one claimed responsibility for the alerts earlier this week and no one has claimed Thursday’s threats either.
But, coming off the back of hackers targeting supermarket fridges, experts say such attacks could serve multiple purposes, from causing disruption to testing authorities’ response.
“These aviation threats are also occurring in the same period as cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe,” said Eliran Almog, CEO of aviation cybersecurity firm Cyviation.
Europe faced bomb threats on Tuesday, too. Catch up here:
At least seven flights and one cruise ship received bomb threats across Europe on Tuesday, triggering disruption at airports and causing concern among travelers.
Yet no explosive devices were discovered.
The threat named two flights to the Polish capital Warsaw, two to the Bulgarian capital Sofia, two to the Italian capital Rome and one to the Spanish city of Murcia.
An airport in Warsaw was temporarily closed, the Italian Air Force escorted one flight to Rome, and a cruise ship bound for Israel was halted in Greece while it was searched for bombs.
A Wizz Air-operated flight from Bergamo, Italy, and a Ryanair flight from Dublin both landed safely at their destination of Sofia, where they were inspected and no explosive devices were found.
Meanwhile, in southeastern Spain, segments of the airport in Murcia were cordoned off in response to a bomb threat reported on a Ryanair flight inbound from Manchester, England. After investigation, officials deemed the report a hoax and re-opened the airport.
In Rome, two other Ryanair flights, from Lisbon and Dublin respectively, were also searched following bomb threats - no risk was located on either aircraft.
And in Greece, an explosives detection dog scoured the Panama-flagged Crown Iris cruise ship after an unidentified person reported that an explosive device had been fitted to the boat’s hull, Reuters cited authorities as saying. The vessel resumed its voyage after coast guard specialists reported it free of risk.
None of Tuesday’s bomb threats have been claimed by any group, nor has any country suggested where blame might lie.
No explosives found, Czech and Italian authorities say
We’ve just had an update from authorities in the Czech Republic and Italy that no explosives have been found after alerts caused flight diversions.
“The operation at the airport is over, there were no bombs and everyone is safe,” Czech Police said.
Rome Airport also confirmed the operation there is over, with no bombs discovered.
Four planes to land in Prague after bomb threats, Czech police say
Four aircraft are rerouting to Prague in the Czech Republic after authorities were alerted to a threat over “improvised explosive devices,” national police reported on Thursday.
The Czech Police are liaising with colleagues at the capital’s Václav Havel Airport to “prepare for their landing,” according to a police statement. Officials assess the threat of the bomb being real as “low,” the police statement said, adding that “inspections will be conducted on all aircraft.”
“Nevertheless, we do not underestimate the threat, which is why all necessary security measures have been activated while minimising the possible impact on passengers and airport operations,” the police statement said.
The Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic said it is “handling the current situation based upon the requirements of the crews and in accordance with regulations.”
The Prague airport is the main airport in the Czech Republic and handled 17.8 million passengers last year.
Bomb threats force diversion of several flights in Europe for a second time this week
Bomb threats forced the diversion of a series of flights across Europe on Thursday for a second time this week.
- Aer Lingus said a flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to Normandy in France as a security precaution.
- A Finnair flight from Helsinki was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets to Rome Fiumicino Airport after a bomb threat on Thursday morning, a spokesperson for the airport told CNN. Bomb checks are still being performed and are being carried out by Italian police.
- Bulgarian media reported emergency landings of three aircraft following bomb threats. Two of the aircraft departed from Copenhagen and Madrid, landing safely in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Reuters reported, citing local media. A third aircraft, flying from London, landed in Plovdiv in Bulgaria, the reports said.
- Reuters also reported that Polish airline LOT had received a suspicious report regarding one of its planes which had departed from Warsaw. It has since landed safely in Brussels, Belgian media reported.
We’ll bring you the latest on this as we get it.
