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Several aircraft stopped on the ground or returned to their departure airports, while passengers disembarked as authorities searched the planes. Authorities stressed that all flights landed safely.<\/p>\n
Bulgaria<\/strong><\/p>\n Three Ryanair aircraft flying from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted to Sofia received false bomb threats on Friday morning, a Bulgarian Transport Ministry spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP).<\/p>\n Two aircraft landed at their intended destination in Sofia, while the third, travelling from London Stansted, diverted to Plovdiv Airport, east of the capital.<\/p>\n Read more: Europe considers tougher drink driving limits as zero tolerance debate grows<\/p>\n Bulgarian Interior Ministry officials searched all three aircraft but found no explosives, a ministry spokesperson told AFP.<\/p>\n Czech Republic<\/strong><\/p>\n The Czech police said they began preparing for the arrival of four aircraft bound for Prague after receiving threats about improvised explosive devices on board.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe these threats are unlikely to be credible. Nevertheless, we are not underestimating the situation and have implemented all necessary security measures, while seeking to minimise their impact on passengers and airport operations,\u201d police said in a post on X late on Friday morning.<\/p>\n Italy<\/strong><\/p>\n A morning Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to \u00c9vreux air base in France, French authorities announced.<\/p>\n Aer Lingus confirmed that flight EI402 \u201clanded safely\u201d and said it was working to transport passengers to their final destinations \u201cas soon as possible\u201d.<\/p>\n A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome also received a false bomb threat. Italian fighter jets escorted the aircraft to Rome\u2019s Fiumicino Airport, an airport authority spokesperson told AFP.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing unusual was found,\u201d a Finnair spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Another Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna also received a false bomb threat, spokesperson Stena Tuunanen added.<\/p>\n Two Wizz Air flights departing from Milan Malpensa Airport in northern Italy also faced disruptions. One was heading to Bucharest and the other to Warsaw. The Warsaw-bound flight diverted to Vienna, the airline said in a statement.<\/p>\n Romania\u2019s intelligence service confirmed that the Wizz Air flight from Milan landed safely in Bucharest. Italian media also reported the diversion of the Warsaw-bound flight to Vienna.<\/p>\n Spain and Other European Countries<\/strong><\/p>\n Spanish authorities received three bomb threats by email within less than 20 minutes at around 9:00 local time. The threats concerned two Air Europa departures from Madrid to Paris and four incoming Iberia flights from Rome and Milan, Spain\u2019s Civil Protection service said.<\/p>\n Two easyJet flights from Britain, one from Ireland and another from Greece landed as scheduled in Prague despite bomb threats.<\/p>\n A LOT flight from Warsaw also landed as scheduled in Brussels following a security alert, the Polish airline said.<\/p>\n In Denmark, a military bomb disposal unit searched two aircraft at Copenhagen Airport but found no devices, police reported.<\/p>\n Third Wave of Threats<\/strong><\/p>\n On Monday, a Wizz Air flight from London\u2019s Luton Airport to Sofia diverted following a bomb threat and made an emergency landing in Budapest.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, around 10 commercial flights across Europe received similar threats.<\/p>\n At least four alerts involved flights operated by Irish airline Ryanair. Two Warsaw-bound flights, one operated by Scandinavian airline SAS and the other by Poland\u2019s LOT, also received threats. Another alert targeted a Wizz Air flight travelling from Bergamo, Italy, to Sofia.<\/p>\n Authorities searched all the aircraft after landing but found no suspicious devices.<\/p>\n A cruise ship also received a bomb threat on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The incidents come as cyberattacks by unidentified hackers targeted supermarket refrigerators in several European countries. Some experts suggest that the false bomb threats could form part of a similar pattern of low-cost, easily deniable attempts to cause disruption.<\/p>\n Anonymous Threats<\/strong><\/p>\n Authorities have yet to establish the origin or motives behind the bomb threats. The incidents form part of a broader trend of increased hybrid attacks across Europe, which authorities and investigators have sometimes linked to Russia or Iran.<\/p>\n Eric Schouten, head of aviation security team Dyami, said most of the affected countries had supported Ukraine in its war against Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n In the Czech Republic, Prague Airport received the threats by email, airport spokesperson Denisa Hejtmankova told AFP. She added that the messages came from anonymous email addresses.<\/p>\n During a parliamentary hearing in late October, France\u2019s senior security official, Nicolas Roche, Secretary-General for Defence and National Security, highlighted the growing scale and diversity of hybrid attacks across Europe.<\/p>\n He cited sabotage, cyberattacks, drones and espionage among the activities authorities have observed.<\/p>\n \u201cI see no reason why this type of attack should stop at our country\u2019s borders today and not continue to affect us in the coming months,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n (Source: AMNA)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n