Bomb threats against flights and broadcasters reported across Europe after days of hoaxes

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Officials across Europe reported a fresh wave of bomb threats against multiple flights on Friday, continuing a streak of similar hoaxes that have prompted diversions this week.

Eurocontrol said it was aware of threats against 14 flights on Thursday and seven on Tuesday, and the European Union’s transportation commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said there were 11 more threats on Friday.

Tzitzikostas said after a meeting in Brussels with Eurocontrol and the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency that security experts will meet in Belgium next week to discuss measures needed to deal with the threats, adding that the priority is passenger safety and the smooth functioning of European aviation.

Despite the concerns, Eurocontrol said the threats have caused minimal disruption to air traffic overall. No suspicious items were found and no injuries were reported.

In Hungary, defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said fighter jets escorted three passenger planes through the country’s airspace within an hour of each receiving a bomb threat. The escorted flights were described as Brussels to Sofia, and Prague to Cyprus and Romania.

In France, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said four bomb threats were made against aircraft flying over the country. The planes landed safely at Paris’ Orly Airport and bomb disposal experts conducted inspections, though the office did not specify which flights were affected.

Threats were also reported in Romania and Portugal, including for a Prague-to-Bucharest flight operated by Tarom and a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome. A WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice after a bomb alert, and passengers were evacuated after it landed.

At Václav Havel Airport in Prague, an airport spokesperson said nine of the affected flights were coming or going there. The flights included arrivals from Denmark, Spain and Britain, and departures to the Netherlands and Britain, as well as the routes to Cyprus, Italy and Romania.

Czech police said security measures were taken that had “a minimal impact on the normal operations at the airport.” Separately, in Denmark, police deployed to Copenhagen airport for a second consecutive day as a precaution over threats directed at air traffic, and said there was no danger to passengers or others at the airport.

Authorities have not attributed the threats to any group or state actor, and no evidence has emerged linking the hoaxes to a government. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said the combination of cyberattacks and bomb threats is cause for concern, and stated that she was not in a position to say whether the events were all connected.

Beyond aviation, broadcasters were also targeted. In Ireland, the Dublin headquarters of national broadcaster RTE was evacuated Friday due to a bomb threat, with live broadcasts replaced by prerecorded programs until police with sniffer dogs searched the area and declared it safe. Irish police said the threat would be investigated, and Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the disruptions show how unconventional actions can undermine society’s normal operations.

In the U.K., a Sky statement reported by Sky News said it had received a “security threat,” adding that it was working with authorities to keep its people and operations secure. In Bulgaria, NOVA TV said it received an email threatening it with a bomb and that it carried out its standard safety measures without interrupting television and radio broadcasts.

European Cockpit Association vice-president Paul Reuter said pilots and cabin crews review procedures, identify possible diversion airports and may carry extra fuel. He called the use of civil aviation for geopolitical disruption or hoaxes “totally unacceptable.”