Europe's flights face third day of hoax bomb threats, fighter jets scrambled

Around 20 flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats on Thursday, prompting fighter-jet escorts, diversions and airport security checks.

Around 20 commercial flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats for a third consecutive day on Thursday, prompting Italian, French and Bulgarian fighter jets to scramble, flight diversions and security checks at multiple airports. All aircraft landed safely, with no explosives found.

Europe flights face third day of hoax bomb threats. (Unsplash)

Emails sent to the Rome and Sofia airports during a series of hoax bomb alerts across Europe Thursday were signed "the fighters of the Male State", according to the text seen by AFP and the company operating Rome airport.

The threats targeted several low-cost carriers, particularly flights to and from Bulgaria, Italy and the Czech Republic. Three aircraft were diverted, while at least five received military escorts after bomb alerts.

Ryanair flights escorted, Aer Lingus aircraft diverted

Bulgaria's air force escorted three Ryanair flights heading to Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London. All three aircraft underwent inspections, with no explosives discovered, an interior ministry spokesperson told AFP.

French fighter jets accompanied an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, forcing it to land at the Evreux military base, about 100 kilometers west of Paris.

France's prime minister's office said the aircraft was escorted after its pilot allegedly failed to cooperate with authorities as expected. Evreux prosecutor Remi Coutin told AFP the pilot had allegedly refused to land at the military base, preferring a civilian airport.

Aer Lingus said its airline and pilots fully cooperated with French authorities.

Separately, a Ryanair flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv, while a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was rerouted to Vienna.

Bomb threats invoke extremist group

Messages sent to Sofia airport and Rome airport operator ADR claimed explosives had been placed on multiple flights. The threats included misogynistic language and purportedly came from “fighters of the Male State”.

A similar threat naming “Men's State” was reported at Birmingham Airport in Britain.

The messages warned of explosions and threatened to target what they described as a feminist regime. AFP could not immediately establish any connection between the threats and Russia's Male State movement, a far-right organization designated extremist by Russian courts in 2021.

Lou Osborn, founder of Inpact, a group monitoring clandestine Russian activities, told AFP the organization uses Nazi symbolism and has thousands of members. Its links to Russian authorities remain unclear, she said.

Prague Airport also received anonymous email threats, while Heathrow Airport said a threat it received was deemed not credible.

Most flights land safely

Several targeted flights reached their destinations without incident, including aircraft operated by LOT Polish Airlines, Wizz Air and Air Serbia.

Four threatened planes bound for Prague also landed safely. Danish police said two flights threatened in Copenhagen arrived as scheduled, adding there had never been any danger to passengers or others at the airport.

The alerts represented a small fraction of European air traffic. Eurocontrol estimated 25,072 flights were scheduled across the continent on Thursday.

The latest incidents followed 10 bomb threats targeting flights on Tuesday, all of which proved to be hoaxes. Monday also saw a Wizz Air flight from London's Luton Airport to Sofia diverted to Budapest following a bomb alert.

(With inputs from AFP)