Bomb threats disrupt European flights as authorities carry out security checks

Bomb threats and other security alerts disrupted passenger flights across Europe on Thursday, November 5, extending a series of incidents that have triggered diversions, emergency landings and searches this week. No explosives have been discovered so far, and authorities have not identified who was responsible for the threats.

Aer Lingus said flight EI402, traveling from Dublin to Rome, was diverted to a French military air base on Thursday. The aircraft carried 151 passengers and six crew members. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said everyone aboard had been taken to a safe location and a bomb squad was at the Évreux-Fauville Air and Space Force base.

In Italy, air force jets escorted a Finnair aircraft arriving from Helsinki to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport. A spokesperson for Rome’s airport authority said the escort followed anonymous reports of a suspected bomb threat. Police bomb disposal specialists began security procedures, and checks were still in progress when the spokesperson described the response.

Finnair confirmed that a flight to Rome had received a bomb threat but said it landed normally. The airline also reported a threat involving a separate flight from Helsinki to Vienna. A spokesperson said that aircraft likewise landed normally, adding another destination to those affected by Thursday’s alerts.

Czech police said they had received threats alleging that improvised explosive devices had been placed aboard four aircraft bound for Prague. In Bulgaria, media reports said bomb threats had forced three aircraft to make emergency landings, according to Reuters, which cited government ministers.

Belgian media reported that an aircraft compelled to land at Brussels’ Zaventem airport was operated by the Polish carrier LOT, Reuters said. The incidents came after several days of threats that had already forced multiple flights to change course and led to the brief closure of an airport in Poland. Authorities in various countries said searches connected to those earlier incidents found no explosive devices.

The week’s security alerts also affected a cruise ship. On Tuesday, authorities launched an operation at the Greek island port of Syros after an unidentified person claimed that an explosive device had been attached to the hull of the Crown Iris. The Panama-flagged vessel was scheduled to sail to Haifa in Israel.

There have been no claims of responsibility for the incidents, and authorities have not indicated who might be behind them. Although no explosives have been found, the threats have disrupted European airspace and operations at some of the continent’s busiest airports.