Fresh Wave of Bomb Threats Targets European Flights and Irish Media Outlets

A new series of bomb threats aimed at multiple flights unsettled Europe on Friday, extending a run of hoaxes that had already forced diversions earlier in the week. Two broadcasters were also targeted. No suspicious items were discovered and no injuries were reported, but the threats caused concern as Europe was already contending with other recent disruptions, including attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions.

In Hungary, the defense minister said military fighter jets escorted three passenger planes through the country's airspace within a single hour after each aircraft received a bomb threat. Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi identified the flights as traveling from Brussels to Sofia and from Prague to Cyprus and Romania.

The office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Friday that “four new bomb threats were made today against aircraft flying over French territory.” The planes landed safely at Paris' Orly Airport, where bomb disposal experts carried out inspections. The office provided no details about the flights involved.

Other episodes included threats against a Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest and a Ryanair service from Lisbon to Rome, with security inspections finding no explosives. A WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice after a bomb alert, and passengers were evacuated on landing. Air traffic at the airport was briefly suspended, but police searches found nothing.

At Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport, spokesperson Denisa Hejtmankova said nine flights were threatened in total, including arrivals from Denmark, Spain and Britain and departures bound for the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania, Italy and Britain. Czech police said the security measures taken had “a minimal impact on the normal operations at the airport.” In Copenhagen, police said they went to the airport for a second consecutive day “in connection with threats directed at air traffic” as a precaution, assessing that there had been no danger to passengers or others. At least 27 flights were targeted on Thursday alone, forcing diversions and prompting fighter jets to escort or intercept several aircraft.

Authorities have not determined who is behind the hoaxes or connected them to any state. Some messages purported to come from a group calling itself the “Male State,” the name of a far-right Russian movement, while others contained misogynistic language. AFP said it had not verified any link between the group and the threats.

The disruption spread beyond aviation on Friday as several Irish media organizations received bomb threats. Ireland's government said the hoaxes were “likely” part of a “coordinated campaign of disruption,” while stressing it was not yet known whether individuals or a centralized operation were responsible. Police responded after national broadcaster RTE, Virgin Media, Newstalk radio and The Irish Independent newspaper all received claims that proved to be hoaxes. “Hoax threats such as these cause fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives and activities; they achieve no positive purpose whatsoever,” the government said, adding that police were working with Ireland's military, cyber and aviation authorities and European counterparts, and vowing that “every effort will be made to identify those responsible and to hold them to account.”

Newstalk host Claire Byrne said after returning to air that staff had been advised to leave the building following “a message that we received,” adding: “We've been advised that we could return to the building and that that warning was a hoax.” Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said the threats “just illustrates how relatively simple it can be to cause disruption and to undermine the normal operation of society through unconventional activities of this kind, which are designed to cause fear and anxiety.” He said a “very significant security operation” would be in place next week when Dublin hosts meetings of the European Political Community and European Union leaders.

An Israel-bound KLM flight was among those caught up in the threats on Thursday. The Amsterdam to Tel Aviv service landed in Bucharest for a scheduled technical stop, after which authorities received a bomb threat and began security checks around the aircraft. Romania's intelligence service said the pilots requested a pyrotechnic inspection. On October 18, an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna carrying 57 people diverted to Sofia following a bomb threat, with Bulgarian fighter jets escorting the aircraft before searches found nothing dangerous. On Tuesday, the Israeli-operated cruise ship Crown Iris was held at the Greek island of Syros after an unknown person claimed an explosive had been attached to its hull; its 940 passengers and 597 crew members were evacuated during a search that found no device.