Bomb threats disrupt at least 15 flights across Europe as source remains unknown

At least 15 European flights were targeted or forced into diversions or emergency landings on Thursday, according to reporting by The Guardian and POLITICO Europe. The incidents involved flights associated with Bulgaria, Italy, France and several other European countries, with affected carriers including Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Finnair and LOT.

One of the clearest examples was an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, which made an unplanned landing at the Évreux-Fauville military airbase in northern France after a bomb threat. Other reported diversions included a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw, which was diverted to Vienna, and a Ryanair flight from London to Sofia, which landed at Plovdiv in Bulgaria.

Authorities and airlines also reported threats involving flights that continued to their intended destinations or were searched after landing. The reported incidents extended across routes connected with Bulgaria, Italy, France and other parts of Europe, illustrating the geographically dispersed nature of the disruption without establishing that every alert followed the same pattern.

No explosives or hazardous items were found in the aircraft searched in the reported incidents. The earlier alerts that week were also described as hoaxes or as having no apparent substance, but the threats still prompted emergency procedures, including diversions, inspections and, in some cases, military or police responses.

The scale of the disruption remains sensitive to the counting method. The Guardian and POLITICO Europe reported at least 15 affected flights, while ABC Australia reported a higher figure of at least 21. ABC’s supplied coverage also described a lower initial count, indicating that the total developed as more incidents were identified or that different reports used different definitions of an affected flight.

The Thursday incidents followed similar bomb-threat alerts on Monday and Tuesday. The supplied reporting said those earlier warnings led to searches or diversions and were reported as hoaxes or apparently without substance, making the latest disruption the third reported episode that week.

The available evidence does not establish whether the incidents were coordinated or linked. EU officials said it was too early to draw conclusions on that question, and no country had publicly attributed responsibility for the flight threats. The perpetrators, motive and source therefore remained undetermined in the supplied reporting.