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Bomb Threats Disrupt European Flights
Confirmed
In Short: Several flights across Europe faced bomb threats Tuesday, prompting searches and diversions.
Tuesday saw multiple bomb threats targeting flights across Europe, leading to searches, diversions, and in some cases, military escorts.
In Italy, a Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed safely in Rome after receiving a bomb threat. The Italian Air Force scrambled two Eurofighters to intercept and escort the plane.
Bulgarian authorities found no explosives on two aircraft at Sofia International Airport that had received bomb threats while en route.
The threats prompted immediate responses from airlines and authorities, with passengers disembarking normally and planes landing without emergency landings.
Matthew Borie of Osprey Flight Solutions suggested that the threats could be copycat incidents, individual or group actions, or part of hybrid warfare tactics.
The crowded skies over the UK and northern Europe make the region particularly vulnerable to such disruptions, with some 900 flights to and from airports in the UK and northern Europe delayed during the summer heatwaves.
In addition to the bomb threats, more than 1,900 flights to and from British airports were canceled by Wednesday morning due to an issue with the flight processing system.
What this adds
The bomb threats come amid increased geopolitical tensions and signs of disruption, such as attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions in Europe.
While the threats appear to be hoaxes, they have caused significant operational disruption to the aviation industry.
Background
Italian army paratroopers and additional soldiers were deployed in Milan as protests against rising costs and deteriorating public services spread across Europe, with demonstrations also reported in Rome, Tirana, and other European cities.
What's confirmed
- BERLIN (AP) — Several flights across Europe received alleged bomb threats Tuesday that ultimately turned out to be hoaxes but prompted searches, diversions and, in one case, an escort by the Italian Air Force until landing, officials said.
- In Italy, a Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed safely in Rome after a bomb threat.
- Join Press Pass from PBS News Such threats were "not a new phenomenon" and come at a time of increased geopolitical tensions and signs of "disruption," like attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, drone incursions in Europe and mysterious triggers to alert apps — even as authorities have warned that hybrid threats abound.
- Matthew Borie of Osprey Flight Solutions, which advises airlines on flight threats, laid out several hypotheses for the as-yet unexplained incidents: A single threat triggers copycat incidents; an individual or a group makes multiple threats; or operations of "hybrid warfare" by state actors or their supporters.
- Peev said that the initial information on the existence of one of the bomb threats "was based on a report from the pilot."
- Bulgarian authorities found no signs of explosives on two aircraft at the Sofia International Airport that had both received bomb threats Tuesday while en route, Bulgaria's Minister of Transportation Georgi Peev said on Tuesday, according to state news agency BTA.
- "The pilot received information through his own channels — from the airline — that such a threat existed," Peev said, adding that Bulgarian air traffic control then followed a protocol for such threats that landed the aircraft safely in Sofia.
What's still developing
- The flight had 121 people on board, including crew, he said.
- Travellers on the affected planes might find themselves waiting a day or more for replacement flights, but the larger concern was the “operational disruption” caused to the wider network, he said.
- READ MORE: Spain set to approve Aena investment plan this month, boasting ‘most competitive airport fees in Europe’ All told, 1300 flights were canceled to/from airports in the UK on Tuesday. 177 flights have been canceled so far on Wednesday, nearly all at London-Heathrow. pic.twitter.com/LWdZcDp36i Among those impacted are passengers flying to and from popular Spanish destinations including Malaga, Sevilla, Barcelona and Lanzarote.
- Airlines laid the finger of blame squarely at Martin Rolfe, the CEO of the National Air Traffic Service (Nats), who was also in charge when a similar issue grounded thousands of flights in 2023.