Further bomb threats disrupt at least another 18 flights across Europe

A fresh wave of bomb threats disrupted air traffic across Europe on Friday but the affected aircraft landed safely and searches revealed no explosive devices.

The latest alerts affected at least 18 flights to or from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the UK.

Danish police investigated a threat against Copenhagen airport but the airport’s management said it was operating normally.

The warnings followed separate threats on Tuesday and Thursday that forced at least 35 flights to be diverted or searched, raising questions over an apparently coordinated effort to cause chaos for travelers
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A number of European media outlets – including news organizations in Bulgaria, Ireland and the UK – have reported that a group claiming responsibility for this week’s threats sent an email to several outlets warning of further attacks on transport across Europe.

“This is only the beginning,” it reportedly said.

The latest threats affected at least nine flights to and from Prague, four flights over France, two flights en route to Sofia and a flight from Lisbon to Rome. Hungary scrambled fighter jets three times to escort civilian flights in its airspace, the defense minister, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, said on Facebook.

The affected flights had knock-on effects but were a tiny percentage – just 0.0674% – of the 26,709 flights that according to the air traffic control agency Eurocontrol were scheduled in Europe on Friday.

A separate spate of threats on Friday against media organizations in Ireland disrupted broadcasts and prompted staff evacuations and police searches of offices and newsrooms.

Earlier this week, cyber-attacks targeted supermarket refrigeration systems in at least seven European countries.

Investigators have said there was no evidence that hoaxes against airlines and other targets were being orchestrated by a hostile terror group or state actor, such as Russia or Iran, but that inquiries were continuing.

Several European media outlets in Bulgaria, Ireland, the UK and elsewhere reported that a group claiming responsibility for this week’s threats warned in an email of further actions against transport across Europe.

Some of the threats on Thursday were signed “fighters of the Male State”, a reference to a Russian far-right, ultranationalist and misogynistic movement founded in 2016. In a Telegram post on Friday the group’s founder, Vladislav Pozdniakov, denied involvement and said the group had not existed since 2021.

Some officials suspect the waves of disruption are linked to European support for Ukraine in its war against the Russian invasion. (Source: The Guardian)