At least 12 flights in Europe received bomb threats - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
On Thursday, at least 12 European flights received bomb threats. No explosives were found; several planes were diverted, and the threats were described as coordinated.
On Thursday, at least 12 European flights became the targets of bomb threats. This followed seven similar incidents at the beginning of the week, during which law enforcement officers found no explosives. Politico reports, UNN writes.
Details
Irish airline Aer Lingus reported that one of its flights from Dublin to Rome was diverted to an airport in France due to a security threat.
The office of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said that the plane landed safely in Évreux, northwest of Paris, and that the 157 people on board were evacuated to a safe location.
According to the BBC, two more flights were diverted on Thursday because of similar reports: a Wizz Air plane traveling from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna, while a Ryanair flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Finnish airline Finnair reported that two of its planes, which had departed Helsinki for Rome and Vienna, received "unfounded or false reports of a bomb threat." The planes were inspected by police after landing. The aircraft traveling to Rome was also escorted by Italian fighter jets.
Another bomb threat concerned a LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels Airport on Thursday morning. Airport spokesperson Isane Chiua Lekli told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad that police conducted checks, but no additional security measures were necessary.
Reports said that two more Ryanair flights to Sofia also received bomb threats—one from Copenhagen and the other from Madrid.
Czech police said on social media that threats had also been received concerning four flights bound for Prague Airport. At the same time, law enforcement assessed "the seriousness of the threats as low."
Air France–KLM CEO Ben Smith said that the threats were being made "in a coordinated manner."
Additional information
On Monday and Tuesday, authorities in Spain, Poland, Italy, and Bulgaria inspected seven passenger aircraft after reports of bomb threats. No explosives were found, but the reports also led to the temporary closure of Warsaw Chopin Airport.
JACDEC CEO Jan-Arwed Richter, whose company specializes in aviation safety analysis, said that the risk of successfully smuggling explosives onto an aircraft is low.
A series of bomb threats have been made against aircraft in Europe03.11.26, 17:08 • 4764 views