On a Tuesday in early November, a run of hoax bomb threats swept across the skies of Europe, touching seven passenger flights in a single day and pulling aircraft down in Warsaw's smaller airport, Rome, Murcia, Sofia and beyond. Each plane landed, no explosives were found, and officials in London and elsewhere described the warnings as malicious and not credible. Yet the sheer number of them, spread so widely across borders, leaves a quiet question hanging over the continent: whether these were the scattered mischief that has always shadowed air travel, or the first pattern of something organi
Seven European Flights Searched or Diverted After Bomb Threats Ruled Hoaxes; No Explosives Found
Passengers on diverted and searched flights were evacuated or held during security checks, though no injuries were reported.
Seven planes, seven searches, and not a single explosive found
Mark
Seven flights in one day sounds alarming. Why are officials so calm?
Mimi
Because every flight landed safely, nothing was found, and a UK source called the threats not credible. Experts say fake threats happen daily.
Luke
Worth noting, though, that "not credible" comes from one anonymous Department for Transport source. It's an assessment, not a finding about who sent them.
Mark
Then why divert planes at all?
Mimi
Baum's point is that a diversion implies the threat looked specific enough to act on. Airlines follow a regulated process, and fighter jets escorted two flights.
Luke
That's his interpretation, and he's an outside expert, not someone running these cases. We don't know what the specific content of the threats was.
Mark
Are they connected?
Mimi
That's the open question. The routes span the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Spain and Bulgaria, with no obvious pattern.
Luke
And no evidence of a hostile state yet. The Russia accusations concern parcel firebomb threats, a separate matter. The source doesn't link them to this.
Mark
What did passengers face?
Mimi
Evacuations and security checks, with parts of Chopin airport closed and Modlin briefly shut. No injuries were reported.
Luke
Ryanair hasn't commented, so the airline side is still thin.
Il Polso
- A single morning of threats forced planes to land in unfamiliar places, with fighter jets escorting at least two of them down.
- Airports from Modlin to Chopin to Fiumicino closed, searched, or cordoned off while passengers waited on the tarmac.
- Investigators are comparing notes across Europe, trying to determine whether seven threats in one day were random or coordinated.
- Officials insist the warnings were hoaxes, yet the coming days will show whether the wider unease about aviation security hardens into something more.
On a Tuesday in early November, a run of hoax bomb threats swept across the skies of Europe, touching seven passenger flights in a single day and pulling aircraft down in Warsaw's smaller airport, Rome, Murcia, Sofia and beyond. Each plane landed, no explosives were found, and officials in London and elsewhere described the warnings as malicious and not credible. Yet the sheer number of them, spread so widely across borders, leaves a quiet question hanging over the continent: whether these were the scattered mischief that has always shadowed air travel, or the first pattern of something organized and unseen.
The first alert arrived on a LOT Polish Airlines flight out of Heathrow. Its Boeing 737 Max, bound for Warsaw's Chopin airport, was instead sent to Modlin, the city's smaller second airport, which was closed while the aircraft landed, emptied of passengers and searched. Nothing was found, and by the time the airport reopened it was running as normal again.
It was only the first of seven flights across Europe that were searched or diverted that day. They took off from or landed in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Spain and Bulgaria, operated by Ryanair, Wizz Air, LOT and SAS. A Scandinavian plane from Copenhagen closed part of Chopin airport. A Ryanair flight was met by emergency vehicles at Murcia. Two Ryanair flights were searched at Rome's Fiumicino, one of them escorted to the ground by Italian air force jets. Two more, bound for Sofia, landed safely with about 180 passengers each. Every plane came down safely, and none held explosives.
Downing Street called the threats malicious hoaxes, and a transport source said they were not credible. Experts agree that fake threats are common, usually made by people seeking amusement or delay, and that terrorists tend to claim attacks rather than announce them. Still, diverting a plane signals that a threat is treated as credible, and the coincidence of so many in one day has investigators sharing information across the continent, examining whether anything connected them. The day followed a similar scare on Monday, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton was diverted to Budapest, and it unfolded against a tense backdrop of recent aviation incidents and past accusations of Russian involvement in threats against cargo flights. For now, the answer is still being pieced together.
The first alert on Tuesday came on a LOT Polish Airlines flight out of Heathrow. The Boeing 737 Max was due at Warsaw's Chopin airport but was sent instead to Modlin, the city's smaller second airport, which was closed after the warning. The plane landed without incident, the passengers were evacuated, and the aircraft was checked. "Nothing was found," airport spokesperson Adam Szablowski told AFP, adding that Modlin had reopened and was running normally.
It was the first of seven flights across Europe that were searched or diverted over the course of the day after bomb threats were made against them. All landed safely and no explosives turned up. Downing Street described the warnings as "malicious hoaxes," and a Department for Transport source said the low-level threats were "not credible" and that passengers should not be concerned. Even so, the volume of threats in a single day left authorities asking whether anything coordinated lay behind them.
The threats touched an unusually wide map. Flights taking off from the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Portugal and Italy were affected, as were flights landing in Poland, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. Four were operated by Ryanair, with the rest run by Wizz Air, LOT and SAS. Investigators saw little obvious pattern in it.
In Poland, officials confirmed bomb threats involving two flights bound for the capital. A Scandinavian Airlines plane from Copenhagen also drew a threat; it landed at Chopin airport, where a security inspection found no explosive devices but closed part of the airport. In Spain, a Ryanair flight from Manchester was met by emergency vehicles when it landed at Murcia after a threat; regional authorities said on social media that no explosives were found. The Metropolitan police said its aviation unit was monitoring the situation and that no security issues were identified following threats made after the flights had taken off.
In Italy, the airport operator ADR said two Ryanair flights were searched at Rome's Fiumicino airport. One had come from Lisbon. A second, later in the morning from Dublin, was escorted in by Italian air force fighter jets until it landed. Nothing untoward was reported. Bulgaria's transport ministry told Reuters that threats were made against a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo and a Ryanair flight from Dublin, both heading to Sofia. Each carried about 180 passengers, landed safely, and had no devices found.
The day followed a similar scare on Monday, when a Wizz Air service due to leave London Luton at 8.15am for Sofia made an emergency landing in Budapest, escorted by a Hungarian fighter jet. Wizz Air said a bomb threat was received during the flight. Ryanair did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday's incidents.
Experts stress that fake threats are routine. Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University, said most come from people who find it funny or want to delay a flight, and that responding to every unsubstantiated threat would halt flying. Terrorist groups, he noted, do not warn in advance; they claim responsibility afterward. But he added that the decision to divert some aircraft would "imply that the threats are credible and specific in nature," and so required a response. Airlines follow a regulated process for assessing threats, and in the UK they must file a mandatory occurrence report with the Civil Aviation Authority.
A UK government spokesperson said Britain has one of the most robust aviation security systems in the world, with well-tested processes for hoax threats like these. Investigators said there was no immediate evidence of a hostile state behind the warnings, though they were monitoring developments and sharing information across the continent. The backdrop is tense: the recent FlyDubai incident, in which a co-pilot allegedly tried to crash a Tel Aviv-bound plane, and accusations that Russia was behind firebomb threats against parcel carriers using cargo planes over the past two years. Whether Tuesday was coincidence or coordination is the question investigators are still working on.
Citazioni salienti
Most are from individuals who think it is funny or want to delay a flight for some reason.— Philip Baum, visiting professor of aviation security, Coventry University
The passengers were evacuated and the plane underwent security checks. Nothing was found.— Adam Szablowski, Modlin airport spokesperson, to AFP
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su The Guardian ↗
Politics & Governance