Hoax Bomb Threats Disrupt More Than 20 Flights Across Europe for Second Time This Week

Hoax bomb threats disrupted at least 21 commercial flights across Europe on November 5, the second wave of such alerts in a week. No explosives were found on any aircraft after searches, and authorities described the messages as malicious hoaxes.

An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Évreux Air Base in France and met by French fighter jets. An Italian Air Force Eurofighter escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki into Rome Fiumicino. Bulgarian jets accompanied three Ryanair flights arriving in Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was rerouted to Vienna. EasyJet flights from Newcastle and Glasgow were met by police in Prague.

Threats were emailed to airports including Rome and Sofia. Some messages were signed by a group calling itself Fighters of the Male State or Men's State and contained misogynistic language claiming the aim was to make a mark on history and turn the skies red. Male State is a Russian far-right organization founded in 2016. British officials called the alerts malicious hoaxes. The UK Transport Secretary and the EU Transport Commissioner condemned threats against civilian aviation.

Similar alerts on November 3 affected at least seven flights, and one earlier incident occurred on November 2. Total disruptions this week exceed 30 flights according to some tallies. Airlines involved included Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Finnair, easyJet, LOT Polish and others. Flights to or from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Romania, Denmark, Greece and Serbia were among those affected.

Airports conducted runway sweeps and partial closures. Passengers were evacuated in some cases for inspections by bomb disposal teams and canine units. All aircraft landed safely. Operational costs included delayed connections and temporary restrictions on taxiways. Heathrow and Birmingham airports in the UK received threats assessed as not credible.

European officials have previously attributed other hybrid incidents, including drone activity and sabotage, to Russian actors. No government has publicly attributed these specific bomb threats. The pattern of low-cost, deniable disruption matches prior hybrid activity that does not rise to the level of armed response. Investigations continue in multiple countries, including by Czech authorities through the National Centre against Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime.

The alerts forced military scrambles in France, Italy and Bulgaria on the same day. One Aer Lingus Airbus A320 carried 151 passengers and six crew who were evacuated after diversion. Finnair reported a second flight to Vienna was also targeted. Greek Aegean Airlines confirmed two of its flights received hoax alerts that proved baseless after security protocols.

The cumulative effect has been repeated interruptions to European air travel within a short period. Authorities have not identified a single source for all the messages. Some carriers continued scheduled operations after negative inspections. The incidents add to a series of aviation security challenges across the continent in recent months.

Passengers faced unplanned landings and delays. Ground teams inspected multiple aircraft at hubs in Rome, Sofia, Prague and elsewhere. No hazardous materials were recovered in any of the searches conducted on November 5 or earlier in the week.