On Thursday, about 20 commercial flights across Europe were hit by hoax bomb threats, prompting fighter jets from Italy, France and Bulgaria to scramble and escort several aircraft, authorities and airlines said.
The threats targeted routes from Greece to Britain and low‑cost carriers operating to or from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Italy. Three flights were diverted but all landed safely and no explosives were found.
At least five flights received military escort. Bulgaria’s air force escorted three Ryanair planes bound for Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted, while French fighters accompanied an Aer Lingus Dublin‑Rome flight, diverting it to the Evreux military base west of Paris. Other diversions included a Ryanair London‑Stansted‑Sofia service rerouted to Plovdiv Airport and a Wizz Air Milan‑Warsaw flight redirected to Vienna.
An Italian newspaper published a threatening message sent to the company that manages Rome’s airports. The note, written in “broken Italian,” accused the authorities of a “criminal conspiracy” and warned of an explosion in 60 minutes, ending with the phrase “Your sky will be red.” The text referenced a far‑right Russian movement called “Male State,” though AFP could not confirm any link. EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was “too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked.”
Most of the targeted flights landed without incident, including a LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw‑Brussels service, a Wizz Air Milan‑Bucharest flight and several Czech Republic routes operated by Ryanair, EasyJet and Sky Express. Czech police described the credibility of the threats as low but said security measures remained in place. Danish police echoed the assessment, stating there was “no danger … to passengers or anyone else at the airport.” Travelers expressed mixed feelings: “It’s very concerning, we’re very concerned about the security in Europe in general, so it’s very fearful to be here,” said Brazilian passenger Natalia Lobo, 29, at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, while French traveler Ella Germain, 20, said the reports caused only “a little bit of worry.” According to Eurocontrol, roughly 25,072 flights were scheduled across the continent on Thursday.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
