European officials say a new wave of bomb threats targeted multiple flights and broadcasters Friday, with no injuries and no suspicious items located.
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European officials reported another round of bomb threats affecting flights across several countries on Friday, following earlier hoaxes that led to diversions this week.
Air traffic authorities said the overall impact on aviation appeared limited. Eurocontrol said it was aware of bomb threats against 14 flights on Thursday and seven on Tuesday, noting the figures represent a very small share of the nearly 26,300 flights in the European network on Thursday. Transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said there were 11 more threats on Friday.
Hungary’s defence minister said fighter jets escorted three passenger flights through the country’s airspace within an hour of receiving threats. Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said the escorted routes were from Brussels to Sofia, and from Prague to Cyprus and Romania.
In France, 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, where bomb disposal experts carried out inspections. The office did not specify which flights were affected.
Threats were also reported for flights including a Prague-to-Bucharest route operated by Tarom and a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome. In addition, a WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, and passengers were evacuated after the aircraft landed.
Eurocontrol said it was monitoring developments and working with airlines, airports, navigation service providers and other groups to mitigate disruption. Czech police said security measures at Václav Havel Airport in Prague had a minimal impact on normal operations.
Separately, police in Copenhagen deployed as a precautionary measure for a second consecutive day over threats directed at air traffic, while officials said there was no danger to passengers or others at the airport.
Authorities said no clear evidence has emerged about who is behind the threats. Officials noted the hoaxes come amid heightened geopolitical tensions, but no group or state has been attributed and no evidence has linked the incidents to a government.
Outside of aviation, Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE said its Dublin headquarters was evacuated Friday because of a bomb threat, with live broadcasts replaced by prerecorded programming. Ireland’s police service said it would investigate and that sniffer dogs cleared the area after a few hours.
The U.K.-based broadcaster Sky said it also received a security threat and that it was working with authorities to keep its people and operations secure. Bulgaria’s private broadcaster NOVA TV said it received a bomb threat by email and that it continued broadcasting using its standard safety measures without interruptions.
Tzitzikostas said security experts would meet in Brussels next week with representatives from Eurocontrol and the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency to discuss measures related to the rash of threats.
He said the priority is passenger safety and the smooth functioning of European aviation.
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