European officials report 14 new bomb threats on flights
Fighter jets escorted three planes in Hungary while police searched Dublin's main broadcaster, continuing a week of disruptions across the continent.
By Nadia Rahman ·
A fresh wave of bomb threats targeted 14 commercial flights across Europe on Thursday, forcing diversions and military escorts as officials struggle to identify the source of the hoaxes. The incidents follow a series of similar reports earlier this week that disrupted airport operations and prompted heightened security at major hubs.
Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi stated that fighter jets escorted three passenger planes across the country's airspace on Friday. The flights, which originated in Brussels and Prague and were bound for Sofia and Cyprus or Romania, received threats within a single hour of one another.
In France, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office announced that four aircraft flying over French territory faced new threats on Friday. All four planes landed safely at Paris Orly Airport, where bomb disposal teams conducted inspections. The office did not specify which airlines operated the affected flights.
Other disruptions included a WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome, which diverted to Venice after receiving a bomb alert. Passengers were evacuated upon landing. A Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome and a Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest also received threats. Security teams found no suspicious items in any of the checked aircraft.
Eurocontrol, the European air traffic authority, monitored the situation closely. The agency reported that the 14 threats on Thursday represented only 0.05% of the nearly 26,300 flights on the European network that day. Eurocontrol said it is coordinating with airlines and navigation providers to minimize further impact on air traffic flows.
At Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport, nine flights were threatened between Thursday and Friday. Czech police noted that security measures had a minimal effect on normal operations. In Copenhagen, police visited the airport for a second consecutive day as a precaution, assessing that no direct danger existed to passengers.
The threat also reached broadcasting facilities. In Dublin, police evacuated the headquarters of national broadcaster RTE on Friday after a bomb threat. Staff returned to the building a few hours later after police and sniffer dogs cleared the premises. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin described the incident as a simple method to cause disruption and undermine normal societal operations. He confirmed a major security operation would be in place for upcoming European Union leader meetings in Dublin.
UK broadcaster Sky also reported receiving a security threat. The company stated it is working with authorities to keep its people and operations secure, and its news channel remained on air. Authorities have not yet linked the broadcast threats to the flight incidents, though both occurred within the same 48-hour window.
