European Air Travel Disrupted by Wave of False Bomb Threats

A wave of bomb threats targeting commercial aviation has caused significant disruption across European airspace throughout the week. Authorities reported that at least a dozen flights were affected on Thursday, November 5, following a similar series of incidents that occurred on Tuesday, November 3. In each instance, security protocols were activated, leading to emergency landings and thorough inspections of the aircraft, though no explosive devices were discovered.

On Thursday, an Aer Lingus flight traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Évreux airbase in Normandy, France, following a security alert. The French government confirmed that the flight landed safely, with all 151 passengers and six crew members evacuated and placed in a secure area while military bomb disposal teams inspected the plane. The aircraft had been observed making abrupt maneuvers south of Paris before changing course toward the military installation.

Other incidents on Thursday included a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome, which was escorted by military aircraft to Rome's Fiumicino Airport. Additionally, three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, were forced to divert or make emergency landings. Two of these flights, arriving from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport, while a third flight originating from London Stansted was diverted to Plovdiv Airport. Bulgarian officials noted that these threats were transmitted via email to the Ministry of the Interior.

These events follow a string of similar alerts reported earlier in the week. On Tuesday, approximately ten commercial flights and a cruise ship, the Crown Iris, were targeted by bomb threats that also proved to be false. The affected flights included routes connecting various European cities such as Manchester, Lisbon, Dublin, Rome, and Warsaw. In one instance, a Wizz Air flight from Luton to Sofia was forced to make an emergency landing in Budapest, escorted by Hungarian fighter jets.

While no specific group has claimed responsibility for the disruption, European officials have expressed growing concern regarding what they describe as a pattern of hybrid warfare. These incidents coincide with reports of cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems in several European countries. Some security experts suggest that the coordinated bomb threats may be part of a broader campaign of low-cost, disruptive actions designed to strain infrastructure and cause public alarm, though both Russia and Iran have denied involvement in such activities.

In a separate development involving aviation security, former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić recently criticized the handling of a Belgrade-to-Moscow flight that was forced to return to Serbia. Vučić questioned the decision-making process of security services, arguing that the aircraft should have landed at the nearest airport if a genuine threat existed. He described the incident as an unnecessary political maneuver that resulted in the detention of politician Aleksandar Vulin for several hours, noting that no illicit items were found during the subsequent search of the plane and baggage.