Passengers on seven flights across Europe faced diversions, evacuations and security searches after bomb threats disrupted airport operations.
The UK government described the incidents as “malicious hoax threats”, and no individual or group claimed responsibility or was publicly blamed.
The security response began after Bulgaria’s border police received an email at around 10:35 (08:35 GMT) warning of “the presence of an improvised explosive device on a flight returning from Bergamo”.
Anonymous emails and tips then targeted flights bound for Warsaw, Sofia, Rome and Murcia, among other destinations. Two of the seven flights had departed from the UK, and two were heading to Warsaw.
A LOT flight from London Heathrow bound for Warsaw was diverted to Modlin airport, briefly closing the airport as security procedures began. Adam Szablowski, a Warsaw-Modlin airport spokesman, said passengers were evacuated and the aircraft was searched, with nothing found. The airport later reopened and resumed normal operations around midday.
At Warsaw’s Chopin airport, a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen landed as scheduled after receiving a bomb threat. One runway was closed during the response.
In Rome, Ryanair flights from Dublin and Lisbon were searched after landing at Fiumicino airport following anonymous tips. The Dublin flight was escorted by the Italian Air Force until it landed, and searches found no explosives on either aircraft.
A Ryanair flight from Manchester landed in Murcia, in southern Spain, after a bomb threat report. Police found no explosives on board, Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in Murcia, said.
Sarah, a passenger on one of the affected flights, said she did not know about the threat until after landing. She was kept on the runway for around 30 minutes before passengers were evacuated.
Georgi Peev, Bulgaria’s transport minister, said threats had also been made against two flights travelling to Sofia, from Bergamo and Dublin. The Bergamo service was operated by Wizz Air and carried 176 passengers, while Ryanair operated the Dublin flight with 185 people on board. Neither flight was diverted, and checks found no explosives.
Authorities deployed full security procedures across Poland, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Hungary, searching aircraft and evacuating passengers while bomb disposal inspections were carried out. All seven aircraft were ultimately cleared.
The wave followed a separate threat the day before, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton made an emergency landing in Budapest under escort from a Hungarian fighter jet.
Security concerns also reached the Greek island of Syros, where the Panama-flagged Crown Iris cruise ship was searched after an unknown person claimed an explosive device had been attached to its hull. Initial checks found no device.
Paul Mason, an aviation security expert, told BBC Radio 5 Live that bomb threats on passenger aircraft “don't happen that frequently”. Rhys Jones, Analysis Output Manager at aviation risk advisory firm Osprey Flight Solutions, said seven confirmed threats affecting flights in a single day was exceptional.
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