European flights once again faced a wave of bomb threats — which ones were affected
Kyiv • UNN
At least 17 flights in Europe were disrupted on November 6 due to bomb threats.
European airspace is on heightened alert following a wave of bomb threats this week. And as of November 6, it is already known that at least 17 flights were disrupted today. UNN reports this, citing The Guardian.
Denmark
Copenhagen police were present at the city’s airport on the morning of November 6 following "threats targeting air traffic."
Copenhagen police later announced that checks at the Danish capital’s airport had been completed and said that "there is no danger to passengers."
Yesterday, two unidentified aircraft were searched at Copenhagen Airport amid wider disruptions across Europe.
Czech Republic
Prague police said on November 6 that they had also responded to threats against "a number of aircraft arriving at and departing from Prague Airport."
Prague Airport later confirmed to the Guardian that nine flights had been affected by bomb threats today.
"The police took the necessary security measures in response. Operations at Prague Airport remain unchanged," a spokesperson said.
The publication notes that an AJet flight from Istanbul was eventually diverted to Vienna after circling Prague several times, although there is no suggestion that it was affected by this morning’s threats.
Italy and Portugal
Meanwhile, the publication writes, the panic forced a Prague–Rome flight to be diverted to Venice.
"A Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice following a bomb threat," the Italian news agency Ansa reports. Flight number W46136 turned around near Ferrara and reversed course to land safely in Venice.
A Ryanair flight from Rome to Lisbon, flight number FR8196, was also targeted by a bomb threat, Portuguese media report.
"Authorities are taking measures to assess and verify the credibility of the threat," CNN Portugal reports.
The Italian news agency Ansa reported that the security alert was received by police through "a phone call from a law enforcement officer."
The report concerning Lisbon proved to be false, Portuguese police confirmed to AFP.
Portugal’s public broadcaster RTP reported more details from the police statement, noting that the threat concerned both flight FR8196, which was heading there, and the return flight from Lisbon to Rome, FR8197.
Authorities will now attempt to determine the "origin and circumstances of the threat," RTP reports.
France
The office of the country’s prime minister reported four new bomb threats against aircraft flying over France.
All the aircraft landed safely, and bomb disposal units carried out checks; an investigation has been launched to determine the origin of the threats affecting Europe as a whole, the office said, according to Reuters.
Romania
A Prague–Bucharest flight was also checked after a false alarm. It was a flight operated by Romania’s Tarom airline from Prague to Bucharest.
The aircraft, with flight number ROT226M, transmitted the 7700 squawk code — a general emergency — before landing safely in Bucharest. It was later confirmed that the threat had not been substantiated.
Romanian media, citing airport and intelligence officials, reported that the incident was linked to the recent wave of bomb threats against civil aviation in Europe.
Bulgaria
Two aircraft landed safely after warnings issued en route to Sofia.
A spokesperson for Bulgaria’s Transport Ministry told AFP that on Friday, November 6, warnings were also received concerning two flights to Sofia, and that both flights, arriving from London Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom and from Brussels, landed safely.
Looking at the airport’s arrivals board, these were W64328 from Brussels and FR1730 from London Stansted, the publication indicates.
Hungary
Hungary scrambled fighter jets to monitor three civilian flights.
Hungarian fighter jets were scrambled three times this morning to escort civilian flights in Hungarian airspace following reports of bomb threats, Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Facebook.
He said that the first alert was received in response to a threat against Wizz Air flight from Brussels to Sofia (W64328), while the other two concerned flights from Prague to Cyprus and Bucharest (the latter operated by Tarom).
Looking at Prague's departures board, the flight to Cyprus will be Wizz Air flight W64600 to Larnaca.
The Netherlands
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee confirmed that it inspected a KLM flight to Amsterdam that had received a bomb threat and confirmed that there were no explosives on board.
The statement did not specify the exact flight number, but it was known that the flight from Prague to the Netherlands was among the nine targeted by a bomb threat detected in the Czech Republic, and local Dutch media identified it as KL1350 from Prague.
Update
As of the morning of November 6, following the events of the previous day, it was reported that airlines and airports across Europe were on heightened alert after a wave of hoax bomb threats targeting commercial flights that week, resulting in at least 35 aircraft being searched or diverted.