Wave of bomb threats grounds 25 flights across Europe

At least 25 flights hit by threats

Bomb threats affected at least 25 flights across Europe on Thursday, the largest disruption this week. Low-cost carriers flying over Italy, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Brussels and Austria were particularly affected.

Third threat wave in four days

Similar bomb threats were made on Monday and Tuesday, which turned out to be hoaxes. Thursday's disruption marks the third such event this week affecting European air traffic.

No explosives found anywhere

No explosives have been found on any of the affected flights. The source of the threats has not been determined and remains under investigation by authorities.

Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome diverted

Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome was diverted to an air base at Évreux, France following a bomb threat. All 151 passengers and six crew members are safe.

Three Ryanair flights to Sofia

Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria made emergency landings due to bomb threats. Two landed at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport. The third from London Stansted was diverted to Plovdiv.

Wizz Air Milan-Warsaw diverted

Wizz Air flight W46387 from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna following an email threat to Polish authorities. Nothing was found and the plane continued to Warsaw.

Spanish threats in rapid succession

Spanish authorities received three emailed bomb threats in under 20 minutes from around 9am local time. Two Air Europa flights from Madrid to Paris and four Iberia flights from Rome and Milan were affected.

Finnair flights to Rome and Vienna

Two Finnair flights from Helsinki were affected. One to Rome was escorted by Italian Air Force units and landed normally. One to Vienna also received a threat but landed normally.

Prague receives four flight threats

Two Easyjet flights from Britain, one from Ireland and one from Greece landed as scheduled in Prague after receiving bomb threats. Prague Airport received all threats in emails from anonymous addresses.

Britain's transport secretary responds

Britain's transport secretary Heidi Alexander said flights across Europe were hit by malicious hoax threats. She said there are established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats.

“established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats, and that's what these threats have been”

EU says too early for conclusions

The EU said it was too early to draw conclusions on connections between this week's bomb threats. EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said any threats against civilians are unacceptable.

“Any threats against civilians are unacceptable”

Russia suspected of hybrid attacks

While no country has attributed blame, European officials have accused Russia of masterminding sabotage and hybrid attacks that are cheap, easily deniable and not expected to trigger armed response.