The latest:
A fresh wave of bomb threats struck flights across Europe on Friday, forcing Hungarian fighter jets to escort three passenger aircraft within a single hour and sending four planes to land under inspection at Paris Orly. No suspicious material was found and nobody was hurt. Two broadcasters, Ireland’s RTE and Britain’s Sky, reported security threats the same day.
Details:
- The numbers: Eurocontrol, the European air traffic agency, said it was aware of bomb threats against 14 flights on Thursday and seven on Tuesday. The 14 represented 0.05% of roughly 26,300 flights across the European network that day, and the agency assessed the overall impact on traffic as minor.
- Hungary’s response: Defense Minister Romulus Ruszin-Szendi said military fighter jets escorted three separate passenger planes through Hungarian airspace on Friday within one hour, each after a bomb threat. The flights were Brussels to Sofia, Prague to Cyprus and Prague to Romania.
- France: The office of Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu announced four new bomb threats against aircraft flying over French territory on Friday. The planes landed safely at Paris Orly, where bomb disposal experts carried out searches. The office did not identify the affected flights.
- Airlines hit: Threats targeted a Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest and a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome. A Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, where passengers were evacuated on landing. Security searches found no explosives.
- Prague and Copenhagen: Vaclav Havel Airport spokeswoman Denisa Hejtmankova said nine flights were threatened, including arrivals from Denmark, Spain and Britain and departures to the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania, Italy and Britain. Copenhagen police deployed to the airport for a second straight day and concluded there was no danger.
- Broadcasters targeted: RTE’s Dublin headquarters was evacuated Friday after a bomb threat, with live programming replaced by pre-recorded output until police and sniffer dogs cleared the building. Sky said it received a security threat and kept broadcasting while working with authorities on staff safety.
- No attribution: Authorities have not linked the threats to any group or government, and no evidence has emerged tying the hoaxes to a state. An emailed threat sent Thursday to Rome airport authorities, seen by the Associated Press, purported to come from a group identifying itself as anti-feminist.
- Officials’ framing: Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told public radio the threats amounted to hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said they formed part of a strategy to increase chaos, alongside cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration and blood banks and drone sightings over military sites.
- Pilots’ view: Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, said bomb threats preoccupy pilots and cause needless stress, but crews respond professionally by reviewing procedures, identifying diversion airports and carrying extra fuel. He called the use of civil aviation for sabotage or hoaxes “absolutely unacceptable.”
- Passenger reaction: At airports in Rome, Madrid and Warsaw on Thursday there were no mass delays or visible extra security. Several travelers described irritation rather than fear, though one passenger whose Dublin-Rome flight was diverted to a French air base said the experience shook him badly.
Background:
Bomb hoaxes are relatively common in aviation, but this volume in such a short period is unusual. The wave lands as European authorities warn Russia may escalate so-called hybrid threats, following recent drone incursions and attacks on supermarket cooling systems.
Between the lines:
The gap between official language and measured impact is the story’s core tension. Ministers in Madrid and Rome describe coordinated hybrid aggression, yet Eurocontrol logged disruption at 0.05% of flights and police in Copenhagen and Prague found no danger. With no evidence tying the hoaxes to any state, the disruption so far is psychological and political rather than operational.
What’s next
Irish police said the RTE threat will be investigated. Prime Minister Micheal Martin flagged a very large security operation in Dublin next week, when the city hosts European Political Community and EU leaders’ meetings.
