At least 11 flights across Europe were diverted or made emergency landings Thursday after bomb threats that authorities later found to be unfounded. The planes had departed from cities including Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw. It was not immediately clear who made the threats.
The incidents followed similar warnings received by several European flights on Tuesday. The U.K. government called those threats “malicious hoaxes.”
Czech police said they were preparing for four aircraft headed to Prague after receiving a warning about a possible explosive device on board. Officials assessed the threat as low, and inspections of the planes found nothing suspicious.
A flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base in western France after a bomb threat, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said. The plane landed safely in Evreux, Normandy, and all 151 passengers and six crew members got off.
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed safely at its destination. The airline said inspections found no hazardous or suspicious items. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest also landed safely, airport spokesperson Teo Postelnicu said.
Finnair said Flight 1761, traveling from Helsinki to Rome, received a bomb threat. Nothing was found after the plane landed in the Italian capital.
Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings following threats. Two, from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed safely at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. The third, which had departed London Stansted, was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, and landed safely, airport CEO Krassimir Peshev said.
The threats come as European officials have accused Russia and Iran of carrying out “hybrid attacks” and sabotage. Both countries deny the allegations.
