Europe scrambles jets after wave of fake bomb threats
At least 25 flights across ten countries were disrupted, with several diverted or escorted by military aircraft.
By Anthony Foster ·
A coordinated wave of false bomb threats disrupted at least 25 flights across Europe on Thursday, forcing airlines to divert aircraft and scramble military jets. The incidents affected multiple countries, prompting the European Commission to activate a formal information-sharing mechanism between member states. This follows a similar set of alerts on Tuesday that triggered security deployments in several cities.
In Madrid, three flights out of Barajas airport received explosive threats. Two were operated by Iberia and one by Air Europa. Security forces from the Spanish state evaluated the planes and cleared them of danger. In Dublin, a plane bound for Rome was diverted over France. French fighter jets forced the aircraft to land at the military base in Évreaux after the pilot initially refused to land at the airfield.
Ryanair faced three separate threats involving flights to Bulgaria from Madrid, London, and Copenhagen. Bulgarian transport officials confirmed the planes were escorted by military aircraft until they landed. Finnair reported that one of its flights, carrying 144 passengers, was escorted by Italian jets before landing safely in Rome. Austrian authorities launched Eurofighter jets to accompany other threatened aircraft.
The disruption impacted both low-cost carriers like Wizz Air and Aer Lingus and national flag carriers such as Iberia and Aegean Airlines. In all reported cases, ground crews inspected the aircraft and found no suspicious items. In Warsaw, a runway at Chopin airport closed temporarily when a LOT flight to Paris faced a threat before takeoff. Copenhagen deployed police and military bomb disposal teams to two parked planes.
In the United Kingdom, threats at Heathrow and Birmingham airports were later deemed not credible. A flight in Cork, Ireland, departed late due to a similar alert. Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Commissioner for Sustainable and Smart Mobility, said the commission is closely monitoring the situation and in contact with the affected states and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
The aviation safety agency noted that pilots and airport staff are trained for such events and assessed the immediate operational risk as low. International Air Transport Association officials condemned the attempts to disrupt air traffic and urged authorities to identify the source. A senior NATO military official said the alliance is monitoring the situation and coordinating with allies who have responded with emergency takeoffs.
