At Least 11 Flights Across Europe Diverted or Forced to Land After Bomb Threats That Turned Out to Be Unfounded, Fox News Reports
Fox News says planes from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw were affected Thursday. Searches found nothing. The source of the threats is unclear, and European officials have blamed Russia and Iran for other 'hybrid' attacks, which both deny.
A wave of threats against passenger planes hit Europe on Thursday, Fox News reports. No bombs were found.
What happened. Fox says at least 11 planes from cities including Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw were diverted or made emergency landings because of bomb threats that proved unfounded. It says the source of the threats was not immediately clear.
The flights. Fox lists several. A Dublin to Rome flight was diverted to a military air base in Evreux, Normandy, according to the office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, and all 151 passengers and six crew got off safely. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed and was searched with nothing suspicious found. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely. Finnair Flight 1761 from Helsinki to Rome was targeted and nothing was found after it landed. Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings. Two, from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed at Sofia, and a third from London Stansted landed at Plovdiv.
Prague. Czech police said they were preparing for four aircraft heading to Prague after reports of an improvised explosive device on board. They said they assessed the threats as low relevance, and inspections of the planes were negative.
The earlier warnings. Fox says several flights got similar warnings Tuesday that the U.K. government called "malicious hoax threats."
The backdrop. Fox, citing Reuters, says the threats come as European officials blame Russia and Iran for "hybrid attacks" and sabotage. Both Moscow and Tehran deny it. Nobody has linked these threats to either country, and Fox does not say the two are connected. We also covered the cyberattacks on European refrigeration systems, which Fox ties to the same wider worry.
Why it matters here. Even hoaxes cost money and time, strand passengers and test how governments respond. This one also raises the question of who is behind the calls, which the report leaves open.
What we could not check. We read Fox's report, which also draws on Reuters and AP. The count of 11 is Fox's "at least," and some figures come from airlines and officials we could not reach.