Bomb threats plague European air travel for 2nd time this week | CBC News - CBC
An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 plane is seen at Evreux military air base after the flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to France following a bomb threat on Thursday. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)Social SharingBomb threats forced airliners to make unplanned landings across Europe on Thursday morning, the latest in a series of threats targeting flights in Europe.
Four airplanes heading to Prague received bomb threats on Thursday and police were preparing for their landing, Czech police said on X, adding they assessed the credibility of the threats as low.
"Nevertheless, we are not underestimating the threat, which is why all necessary security measures have been activated with minimal impact on passengers and airport operations," police said. "After landing, all aircraft will undergo pyrotechnic inspections."
Bulgarian officials reported three aircraft making emergency landings because of bomb threats.
Airplanes flying from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia, the interior minister said, according to broadcaster bTV.
A third aircraft, from London, landed in Plovdiv, local media said.
Polish airlines LOT said on Thursday that a flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed safely at its destination after a security warning and no threat was confirmed.
"Following receipt of information regarding a potential security threat to flight LO235 from Warsaw to Brussels, the flight crew was notified of the situation and conducted an onboard inspection in accordance with established procedures. No suspicious items were found," a LOT spokesperson said.
The aircraft landed at Brussels Airport, where security services carried out an additional inspection of the plane.
Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome landed safely at Evreux airport, 100 km west of Paris, after being diverted as a security precaution, the Irish airline said in a statement.
A Finnair plane from Helsinki was safely escorted to its scheduled landing in Rome by the Italian air force, a source close to the matter said.
On Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received bomb threats, causing disruption at airports across Europe, although no devices were discovered.
While no country has attributed blame for the threats, they come at a time when European officials have been blaming both Russia and Iran for what they describe as "hybrid attacks" and acts of sabotage. Moscow and Tehran both deny any such campaign.
Drone incursions have periodically forced flight delays and cancellations in Europe and, this week, unidentified hackers shut down fridges in supermarkets in several countries across the continent. Some experts said hoax bomb threats could be part of a similar pattern of low-cost, deniable disruption efforts.
