Get you up to speed: At least 25 planes forced into emergency landings after bomb threats over Europe | News World
At least 25 planes were forced to make emergency landings across Europe due to bomb threats, affecting flights to cities including Milan, Rome, Sofia, and Madrid. Authorities have assessed the threats as hoaxes after confirming that no genuine explosives were found during searches.
Authorities have confirmed that no explosives were found on the 25 planes subjected to bomb threats, with security measures concluded at targeted airports. The ‘Fighters of the Male State’ group is under investigation for the threats, which were deemed hoaxes, and no credible connections have been established between them and any existing extremist networks.
Transport Secretary Heidei Alexander acknowledged the situation, stating that the UK is taking the bomb threats seriously but assesses them as “malicious hoax threats.” Despite the disruptions, operations at Heathrow and Birmingham airports continued as normal, with no credible threats confirmed.
What remains unclear — It is not confirmed whether the group ‘Fighters of the Male State’ is linked to the Russian far-right group ‘Male State’.
At least 25 planes make emergency landings across Europe due to bomb threats
At least 25 planes have been affected by bomb threats and forced to make emergency landings in the skies across Europe.
Reports of explosives triggered evacuations and emergency searches of multiple planes heading to Milan, Rome, Sofia, Madrid, Copenhagen, Prague and other European cities.
A group called ‘Fighters of the Male State’ that threatened to ‘turn the sky red’ were behind the threats sent to Rome airport, which saw fighter jets intercept one plane before landing.
The reports have been described as hoaxes after police forces and airports confirmed their searches so far have not discovered any genuine threats.
List of confirmed flights affected by bomb threats
EI-DEH Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, diverted to Evreux, France
FR6410 Ryanair flight from Madrid to Sofia
IBE668 Iberia flight from Milan to Madrid
IBE658 Iberia flight from Rome to Madrid
One unidentified flight atoMadrid airport
Two Copenhagen flights, including FR3606 Ryanair flight from Copenhagen to Sofia
FR1730 Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Sofia, diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria
LO235 LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels
W46387 WizzAir flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw-Okęcie, diverted to Vienna, Austria
AY1761 FinnAir flight from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino airport
AY1471 FinnAir flight from Helsinki to Vienna
WizzAir flight from Milan Malpensa to Bucharest, Romania
A3552 Aegean Airlines flight from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Milan Malpensa
A3860 Aegean Airlines flight from Athens to Vienna
FR8953 Ryanair flight from Porto to Milan Malpensa
Easyjet flight from Newcastle to Prague
Easyjet flight from Glasgow to Prague
Two unidentified flights to Prague
Air Serbia flight to Bucharest
The Dublin-Rome jet flew in circles before landing at the French air base
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Two UK airports, Heathrow and Birmingham, also received threats which were assessed as not credible, it is understood, with operations continuing as normal.
The chaos comes two days after around ten commercial flights, including two from the UK, were targeted by bomb threats.
The bomb threats that hit two flights to Rome airport came from an anonymous email written in Italian and sent to the Rome airport company, ADR, early on Thursday, it has been reported.
The subject heading was ‘segnalazione minaccia (‘threat warning) and were signed on behalf of a so-called ‘Fighters of the Male State’.
They claimed to be targeting a ‘feminist regime’ and hoping to ‘make our mark on history’.
The group reportedly threatened to ‘turn the skies red’ with explosions.
It is not clear if this group is linked to ‘Male State’, a Russian far-right misogynistic online gate group.
Have you been affected by the bomb threats to flights?
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A report of explosives made against two planes in Copenhagen came from a ‘threat email’ sent to a ‘broad recipient group’, TV2 reports.
Transport Secretary Heidei Alexander said she was aware of a ‘small number of flights’ disrupted on Thursday, but said the UK were taking these threats ‘seriously’.
She added: ‘But we understand that these have been malicious hoax threats.’
A Dublin to Rome flight was among the first to be forced to change its course to Évreux air base in Eure, north of Paris, after a report of a bomb.
The Aer Lingus jet landed as a ‘safety precaution’ after flying in circles over France.
Both planes squawked an emergency 7700 code within 20 minutes of each other before being directed to different runways.
A Ryanair plane at Sofia Airport after airplanes flying from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia following bomb threats (Picture: REUTERS)
A Wizz Air plane from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna following another bomb threat received during the flight.
Prague police said this morning four flights heading to the Czech capital had been affected by bomb threats.
Two of these were EasyJet flights from Newcastle and Glasgow, which were met by police as a precaution, the airline said.
Security measures ended after no explosives were found on all four aircraft, police later confirmed.
Three flights were affected by hoax bomb threats at Madrid’s airport on Thursday morning, with Spanish authorities ruling out any risk.
Rome Airport has closed and said that checks over a bomb alert for a FinnAir plane that landed there confirmed no threat.
Three planes flying to Sofia in Bulgaria were among those affected, with officials confirming that no issues were identified.
Planes from Copenhagen and Madrid landed at Vasil Levski Airport in Sofia where checks were carried out.
The third plane, coming from London, has landed at Plovdiv Airport, where it is being stationed in a parking lot as far away from the terminal as possible.
Authorities at Warsaw Airport have already confirmed that ‘no suspicious items were found’ on one plane which received a bomb threat en route to Brussels.
The Wizz Air flight had to land in Vienna.
Ten commercial flights, including two from the UK, were affected by bomb threats on Tuesday.
None of the flights, which included at least four Ryanair flights, were affected, but no suspicious devices were found.
A LOT aircraft from London Heathrow had to be diverted to Warsaw-Modlin after the warning, while a Manchester jet was affected en route to Murcia in Spain.
FinnAir confirmed they had received two ‘unfounded or hoax bomb threats’.
A Wizz Air spokesperson said about the Milan to Warsaw flight: ‘Wizz Air confirms that today’s Milan Malpensa–Warsaw flight (W4 6387) has been diverted to Vienna following a bomb threat received during the flight.
‘The diversion was initiated in accordance with established security protocols and procedures, with the safety of passengers and crew as the highest priority.
‘This incident comes amid a series of similar bomb threats affecting several airlines across Europe in recent days. Wizz Air is not the only airline targeted, with other carriers also experiencing threats resulting in flight diversions and security checks.
‘Wizz Air is cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and is taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety of everyone on board. The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.’
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