All planes affected by bomb threats this morning
Here is a summary of all planes reportedly affected by bomb threats this morning – with the tally currently at 25 today:
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EI-DEH Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, diverted to Evreux, France (9:55, 10:07, 10:25)
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FR6410 Ryanair flight from Madrid to Sofia (10:45)
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FR3606 Ryanair flight from Copenhagen to Sofia (10:45)
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FR1730 Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Sofia, diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria (10:45)
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LO235 LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels (10:48)
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W46387 WizzAir flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw-Okęcie, diverted to Vienna, Austria (10:52)
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AY1761 FinnAir flight from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino (10:52).
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AY 1471 FinnAir flight from Helsinki to Vienna (11:06).
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U23179 easyJet flight from Glasgow to Prague (11:16, 17:00).
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U25629 easyJet flight from Newcastle to Prague (11:16, 17:00).
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FR7326 Ryanair flight from Dublin to Prague (11:16, 17:00).
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GQ750 Sky Express flight from Athens to Prague (11:16, 17:00).
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W43064 WizzAir flight from Milan-Malpensa to Bucharest (11:50).
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A3552 Aegean Airlines flight from Thessaloniki to Milan-Malpensa (12:17).
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FR8953 Ryanair flight from Porto to Milan-Malpensa (12:17).
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IBE668 Iberia flight from Milan to Madrid (15:33)
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IBE658 Iberia flight from Rome to Madrid (15:33)
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UX1027 Air Europa flight from Madrid to Paris (13:37, 16:15).
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JU102 Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest (15:25, 15:54).
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A3860 Aegean Airlines flight from Athens to Vienna (16:38)
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LO331 LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Paris (17:54).
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FR901 Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Cork (18:06).
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Two unidentified planes inspected at Copenhagen airport (18:16).
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FR5015 Ryanair flight from Pescara to Brussels Charleroi (18:36).
Post last updated at 18:46 CET with the latest tally
Key events
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Closing summary
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Flight to Brussels checked after word ‘bomb’ spotted in lavatory
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Two aircraft in Copenhagen inspected after email threats
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Ryanair flight from London to Cork held up by ‘anonymous threat by phone’
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Second LOT Polish Airlines flight affected by false bomb threats
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‘Fighters of the Male State’ reportedly behind emails to Bulgarian authorities
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While concerning, 20 alerts are still a tiny fraction of all flights in Europe – snap analysis
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What do we know (and what we don’t) so far – explainer
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Four planes investigated in Prague confirmed to be from UK, Ireland, Greece
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Global airlines body condemns ‘attempts to interrupt air transport,’ urges authorities to ‘find origins’
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Second Aegean Airlines flight confirmed to be affected by ‘baseless’ bomb alarm
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Third plane affected by false bomb alarm in Madrid confirmed
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Air Serbia confirms ‘unfounded’ threat against its Belgrade-Bucharest flight
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Iberia confirms two planes affected by false bomb alarms sent to Madrid airport
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Air Serbia flight to Bucharest affected by bomb threat, airline says
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Heathrow, Birmingham hit by ‘not credible’ threats this morning
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‘Threats ruled out’ after security forces carried checks on three flights at Madrid airport
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Experts say multiplicity of hoax alerts point to coordinated action – snap analysis
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‘Too early’ to say if flight bomb threats are linked, EU commissioner says
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Three flights affected by hoax bomb threats in Madrid, authorities say
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Have you been affected by the bomb threats to flights in Europe?
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No threat confirmed after reported threat against WizzAir flight to Bucharest
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Two more bomb threats reported against Milan-bound planes
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‘No issues identified’ at three Ryanair flights to Bulgaria, ministry confirms
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Aer Lingus confirms diversion to France as ‘security precaution’
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Rome checks ‘with negative results,’ airport operations not affected
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No explosives found on four planes in Prague, police says, with counter-terror, cybercrime unit investigating
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FinnAir confirms two ‘unfounded or hoax bomb threats’ against its planes
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Another WizzAir flight reportedly affected in Romania
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Wizz Air confirms Milan-Warsaw flight affected, says ‘not the only airline targeted’
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LOT Polish Airlines confirms ‘no suspicious items found’ after earlier bomb threat
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Bomb threats reported against four planes heading to Prague
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Second threat against FinnAir’s flight today
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All planes affected by bomb threats this morning
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Two more planes affected by bomb threats, Italian media report
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Bomb threat reported against Polish plane flying to Brussels
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Bomb threats reported against three planes flying to Bulgaria
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Bomb squad in place to inspect plane with passengers, crew moved to safe place, France says
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Diverted flight to Rome lands in French military base after bomb threat
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Morning opening: Another bomb alert on a European flight
Closing summary
Jakub Krupa
And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.
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Hoax bomb threats have caused disruption to at least 25 flights across Europe (latest tally 11:01), renewing questions about a possibly coordinated effort to disrupt travel.
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At least 32 flights have been disrupted this week in total, with all incidents confirmed to be false alarms.
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There is no intelligence yet pointing to any particular group or state actor, such as Russia or Iran, amid worries over hybrid incidents targeting Europe (15:57).
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But local reports in Bulgaria and Italy said the emails were signed “the fighters of the Male State,” drawing concerns about possible Russia links (18:45).
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Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto described the incidents as fitting the pattern of “warfare below the threshold,” making it difficult to attribute responsibility.
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One of the pilots affected by today’s events was being questioned by the French authorities after reportedly declining to land at a military airport (17:18), with Aer Lingus saying they are “aware of the matter and will of course cooperate with the French authorities.”
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Global airlines body Iata has “condemned … attempts to interrupt air transport,” urging the relevant authorities to “find the origins of these hoax threats” (16:52).
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Affected flights accounted only for a tiny fraction of all 27,400 flights were scheduled in Europe today, according to the European air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol (17:24).
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Pjotr Sauer
Male State is a Russian far-right, ultranationalist and misogynistic movement founded in 2016 by Vladislav Pozdnyakov, initially as an online community on the social network VKontakte.
Its supporters became known for coordinating harassment campaigns against women, LGBTQ+ people and businesses that had spoken out against discrimination.
In October 2021, the Nizhny Novgorod regional court designated Male State an extremist organisation and banned its activities in Russia.
Pozdnyakov has continued to publish far-right material online and is a prominent supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
On his Telegram channel, Pozdnyakov has neither commented on nor claimed responsibility for the bomb threats.
Jakub Krupa
After reports from Bulgaria (17:37) and Italy (14:38) alleging links with the “Fighters of the Male State,” let’s cross to our Russia expert Pjotr Sauer for a quick explanation on the group – with big caveats that we do not really know for sure if they are involved or not.
Flight to Brussels checked after word ‘bomb’ spotted in lavatory
A separate Ryanair flight from Pescara in Italy to Brussels Charleroi had to inspected after the word “bomb” was discovered scrawled on the walls of its onboard lavatory.
The airport confirmed the incident to Belgian newspaper Le Soir and broadcaster RTBF, saying a detailed inspection of all luggage and passengers confirmed no threat.
Here’s a handy map showing some of the affected flights from our visuals department.
The full list of all affected flights today is pinned at the top here.
Two aircraft in Copenhagen inspected after email threats
Two aircraft were inspected at Copenhagen Airport this morning after authorities received emailed threats against them, Danish media reported, without providing details about the flights.
Both planes were later cleared to fly after investigators confirmed there was no threat, according to broadcasters DR and TV2.
Ryanair flight from London to Cork held up by ‘anonymous threat by phone’
A Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Cork airport was also held up on arrival in Ireland this morning after a false bomb threat.
A Cork airport spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian the airport received “an anonymous threat by phone this morning in relation to a specific flight.”
“Elevated additional secutity measures were adopted in conjunction with An Garda Síochána. Nothing of concern was identified and the flight resumed operations with a 90-minute delay. The incident has been fully stood down.”
The airport did not identify the flight, but it was named in Irish media as FR901 from London Stansted, which experienced a delay meeting the airport’s description.
This brings today’s total up to 22 and 30 for this week.
Second LOT Polish Airlines flight affected by false bomb threats
Jakub Krupa
A second LOT Polish Airlines flight – this time LO331 from Warsaw Okęcie to Paris – was also caught up in today’s false bomb alerts.
Following an anonymous report, the plane was forced to stay in Warsaw for additional checks, which showed no reason for concern.
It eventually departed just over four hours late and landed safely in Paris in the early afternoon, the Guardian confirmed.
‘Fighters of the Male State’ reportedly behind emails to Bulgarian authorities
An email sent to Sofia airport during a series of hoax alerts across Europe today was signed “the fighters of the Male State,” AFP reported.
The email read:
“We, the fighters of the Male State, will make history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red.”
As reported earlier (14:38), similar messages were also sent to Italian airports.
While concerning, 20 alerts are still a tiny fraction of all flights in Europe – snap analysis
Jakub Krupa
While 20 false bomb threats across Europe will certainly raise concern, it is worth keeping in mind that this is just a fraction of the overall number of planes flying across the continent every day.
Some 27,400 flights were scheduled in Europe today, according to the European air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol.
The pilot of an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome that diverted to Évreux following a bomb threat (9:55, 10:07, 10:25) is being questioned by French authorities for initially refusing to land at a military base, according to media reports in France.
AFP, France24, Le Figaro and TF1 said that the pilot reportedly insisted on landing at a civilian airport, such as Beauvais or Nantes, prompting the French air force to intercept the plane with fighter jets.
He will now be “questioned under caution,” local public prosecutor Rémi Coutin told AFP.
Aer Lingus has been approached for comment.
What do we know (and what we don’t) so far – explainer
Jakub Krupa
If you are only just joining us and what to catch up on what’s on earth is going on, here is our explainer on what do we know (and what we don’t) so far.
Four planes investigated in Prague confirmed to be from UK, Ireland, Greece
Jakub Krupa
The four flights affected at Prague airport can now be confirmed as inbound flights from Athens, Dublin, Glasgow and Newcastle (11:16, 11:58).
A spokesperson for the Prague airport, Jiří Hannich, told the Guardian that “an anonymous threat was received concerning the possible presence of explosive devices on board selected flights” arriving to Prague.
“In accordance with the Airport Emergency Plan, the Security Operations Command Center was activated under the direction of the Police of the Czech Republic.
The aircraft landed safely in Prague and were directed to remote stands.
Following their arrival, the Police of the Czech Republic conducted security searches of the aircraft for explosives, all with negative results. All passengers safely disembarked from the aircraft and received their baggage once all necessary security measures had been completed.
The situation had no significant impact on other airport operations. The threat is currently under police investigation. For this reason, we are not in a position to provide any further details.”
Global airlines body condemns ‘attempts to interrupt air transport,’ urges authorities to ‘find origins’
Global airlines body Iata has “condemned … attempts to interrupt air transport,” urging the relevant authorities to “find the origins of these hoax threats.”
“Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously,” Iata’s senior vicepresident for operations, safety and security, Nick Careen said in a statement.
“Meanwhile passengers should be assured that aviation security measures will continue to ensure the highest levels of public safety,” he added.
Austrian defence ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer has confirmed that all affected flights in Austrian airspace were escorted by Eurofighters jets.
In a handy explainer, he said:
“What the Eurofighters can achieve in this scenario: They can observe the situation on site as the sole eyewitness and report any possible deviation from the flight path if the pilot has no radio connection.
If the aircraft is damaged but remains airworthy, the EF pilot can inspect the damage and provide assistance with information about the condition. Through visual contact with the pilot, they can at least support them in any case.”
In a separate post, he confirmed there were three affected flights, which checks out with our tally (11:01).
