Emergency diversions, airport closures, and military jet escorts hit at least seven passenger flights and a cruise ship across Europe faced bomb threats on Tuesday, which authorities ultimately found to be hoaxes. The incidents impacted operations in Poland, Bulgaria, Spain, and Italy, following similar threats against flights earlier in the week.
Fighter Jets Escort Flights in Rome and Budapest
Two Ryanair flights heading to Rome’s Fiumicino airport received bomb threats via email in Italy. A flight originating in Lisbon landed safely at 0940 CET, while a second flight from Dublin was intercepted and escorted to landing by the Italian Air Force. Airport operator ADR confirmed that police bomb disposal units searched the planes, passengers, crew, and luggage, clearing the alerts without finding any explosives. Following the security measures, which included exhaustive searches and explosive sweeps of the aircraft, passengers, crew, and baggage, ADR reported that the warning was resolved with zero impact on other flights.
Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate for the Murcia region, stated that all 114 passengers and seven crew members disembarked for security checks while authorities inspected the aircraft after a Ryanair flight arriving from Manchester received a bomb alert.
Hungary’s defence minister stated that a Hungarian Gripen fighter jet was scrambled to escort the aircraft following an incident on Monday where a Wizz Air flight traveling from London to Sofia was forced to divert to Budapest after a bomb threat. Wizz Air later confirmed that inspections of the plane and passengers revealed no threat.
Diversions and Airport Closures Across Poland and Bulgaria
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from London made an unscheduled landing at Warsaw-Modlin airport following a bomb threat in Poland. Modlin Airport temporarily suspended air operations before resuming around midday. LOT confirmed that search operations concluded and nothing was found on the aircraft.
Warsaw Chopin Airport received notice regarding a potentially dangerous item aboard a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight arriving from Copenhagen. SAS said the aircraft landed safely and its passengers disembarked. Polish authorities said the threat was not confirmed. The airport continued operations.
Minister of Transportation Georgi Peev stated that two incoming flights from Bergamo and Dublin received bomb threats while in transit to Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria. Both planes landed safely and were inspected by the Specialized Counter-Terrorism Unit, with transport officials confirming no explosives were discovered. Peev added that the alert was based on a report from the pilot,
noting that The pilot received information through his own channels — from the airline — that such a threat existed.
An Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna had previously diverted to Sofia on October 18 following a bomb scare that occurred while the aircraft was flying over Romanian airspace, per the Bulgarian transport ministry. A Bulgarian Air Force MiG-29 escorted the Airbus A320, which landed approximately 30 minutes after the alert was raised, leading to the evacuation of passengers. Austrian Airlines confirmed that 51 passengers and six crew members were on board, noting that no injuries were reported and the security search uncovered no threat before the flight continued its journey to Vienna.
Police Investigate Origin of Cruise Ship Bomb Threats
Initial checks found no devices when a cruise ship received a bomb threat.
Rhys Jones, Analysis Output Manager at aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions, described the simultaneous cluster of alerts as exceptional, noting that The lack of clear target state, airline, or route indicates that general disruption to aviation operations is the aim,
according to Reuters. Bulgarian Interior Ministry Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov stated that law enforcement agencies were working to identify the origin of the threats.
Who is responsible for the origin of the threats?