Multiple Planes Targeted by Bomb Threats Across Europe - Newsweek

Multiple planes were targeted by suspected bomb threats in Europe on Thursday, days after a spate of similar incidents caused chaos.

An Aer Lingus plane, with more than 150 people on board, was forced to divert to a military base in France, while planes heading for the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Poland were also impacted.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said military bomb disposal teams are examining the Aer Lingus plane but that all 151 passengers and six crew are safe.

"Flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome diverted to Normandy this morning as a security precaution," an Aer Lingus spokesperson told NBC News.

Reports say threats have also targeted Ryanair, Wizz Air, Scandinavian Airlines, Finnair and LOT Polish Air Lines flights.

Wizz Air flight W4 6387 from Milan to Warsaw was forced to divert to Austria after receiving a bomb threat in mid-air, an airline spokesperson told the Daily Mirror.

"Wizz Air confirms that today’s Milan Malpensa–Warsaw flight (W4 6387) has been diverted to Vienna following a bomb threat received during the flight.

"The diversion was initiated in accordance with established security protocols and procedures, with the safety of passengers and crew as the highest priority."

Two hundred Wizz Air passengers were forced to evacuate from a flight travelling from Milan to Bucharest after a similar threat.

"Passengers have been disembarked. The airport has taken the procedural measures required in such cases, in cooperation with state institutions,” Bucharest National Airports Company told the BBC. "A crisis management unit is being established, and specific procedures for these situations are being implemented."

A specialist explosives team from Romania’s Intelligence Services is inspecting the aircraft.

LOT Polish Airlines has also confirmed that no suspicious items were found following an inspection of grounded flight LO235 from Warsaw to Brussels.

Finnair said in a statement seen by The Guardian that passengers on board two flights have been safely evacuated after facing "unfounded or hoax bomb threats today.”

Four flights heading to Prague received bomb threats, Czech police announced.

In a statement on X, the Czech police said they believed the risk level was “low” but added “we do not underestimate the threat, which is why all necessary security measures have been activated.”

Police subsequently confirmed that no explosives were found on the four aircraft after they landed in Prague.

While such threats are not a new phenomenon, they arrive following a series of disruptive actions and cyberattacks across Europe over the past several weeks, which have seen supermarket refrigeration systems targeted by hackers and a series of drone attacks on cargo vessels within NATO borders.

Emergency alert apps used to warn of airstrikes in both Russia and Ukraine also gave false alerts this week, with neither side sure of who perpetrated the hacks.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Tony Phillips.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.