Second Wave of Hoax Bomb Threats Diverts Dozens of Flights Across Europe

Airlines and airports across Europe received a second wave of bomb threats on November 5, 2026, forcing at least 25 flights to divert or make emergency landings. Italian fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome. An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome diverted to the Évreux military air base in France, where bomb-disposal teams examined the aircraft. All 151 passengers and six crew members were reported safe.

Threats reached flights operated by Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Finnair, Aer Lingus, LOT Polish Airlines and others. Affected routes included services to and from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland and Romania. Prague airport said it received an anonymous email. Rome airport authorities said the warnings arrived by email and were signed by a group calling itself “Fighters of the Male State.” The messages claimed to target a “feminist regime” and threatened to “turn the skies red.”

No explosives were found on any aircraft. British authorities called the incidents malicious hoaxes. Czech police assessed the threats as low credibility. The European Union transport commissioner said it was too early to determine whether the alerts were linked. Investigators across Europe continue to examine the messages. Some governments have previously attributed similar low-cost disruptions to hybrid activity, but no official has assigned responsibility for this week’s events. Russia and Iran have denied involvement in past incidents of this type.

This was the second cluster of alerts in a week. On November 3 a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest after a threat that proved empty. In total more than 30 flights were disrupted between Monday and Thursday. Eurocontrol recorded more than 27,000 scheduled flights across Europe on November 5, so the affected share remained small. Still, the coordination of emails, the use of fighter escorts and the diversion to a military base required resources from multiple air forces and airport security teams.

Airlines follow standard procedures when they receive a threat: security staff run the report through a checklist, assess credibility and decide whether to divert. Most carriers acted on the November 5 messages even when later inspections found nothing. Passengers on the diverted Aer Lingus flight spent hours on the ground at Évreux before being transferred. EasyJet flights from Newcastle and Glasgow were met by police on arrival in Prague as a precaution.

The incidents add to a pattern of low-intensity disruptions aimed at civil aviation. Each alert requires bomb-disposal teams, fighter aircraft and hours of delayed schedules even when the threat is false. European airports and carriers have not yet identified a single source. Until investigators close the cases, the practical result is that a series of emails can still force emergency landings and military escorts across the continent.