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Airlines divert more flights across Europe on Thursday after bomb threats
A run of threats that began earlier in the week has now reached flights from Dublin, Helsinki and Warsaw, and no explosives have been found.
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Thursday's diversions
Airlines were forced to divert more flights carrying passengers across Europe on Thursday because of bomb threats, following a series of warnings that disrupted several airliners earlier that week. [1] The Thursday incidents followed days of threats that forced multiple flights to divert and an airport in Poland to briefly close. [2]
The French prime minister's office confirmed that a Dublin-Rome flight was diverted to a military base in Évreux in Normandy, following a bomb threat. [1] The flight was Aer Lingus EI402, which changed course near Paris and diverted to a French Air Force base. [2]
Aer Lingus said the flight landed safely and it would work to reaccommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible. [1]
Other flights and airports affected
A Finnair flight from Helsinki was escorted by Italian Air Force jets to Rome's Fiumicino Airport after anonymous reports of a suspected bomb threat, and bomb disposal experts found nothing. [2] Finnair spokesperson Stiina Tuunanen said that threats are almost always unfounded. [2]
Security operations were launched at airports in Prague, Copenhagen and Warsaw, with military and police sniffer dogs patrolling the tarmac in Warsaw. [2] Police in the Czech Republic said they had received threats about improvised explosive devices being placed on four planes heading to Prague. [2]
How the week began
At least seven flights were disrupted by bomb threats between Monday and Tuesday, leading to hundreds of passengers being diverted and fighter jets escorting some aircraft to airports. [1] The airlines affected in the earlier threats included Wizz, Ryanair Holdings Plc, LOT and Scandinavian Airlines. [1]
Three Ryanair flights were interrupted as they headed to Sofia. [2] LOT Polish Airlines said two of its aircraft from Warsaw were targeted, one flying to Brussels and the other to Paris. [2] A LOT passenger's Warsaw-Paris flight LO331 was aborted and moved to a later time after officials cited safety protocols. [2]
No pattern and no culprit
No explosives were found and the UK government called the incidents 'malicious hoax threats.' [1] No pattern has emerged around the spate of threats that week, either in the carriers targeted or the routes affected. [1]
Authorities have not indicated who could be behind the incidents, and there were no claims of responsibility. [2] It was not clear who or what was behind the calls. [2]
Bomb threats are rare events and almost always end up being hoaxes. [1] The unusual rise in them comes at a time of heightened geopolitical tension and freak disruptions in Europe, including repeat hacking attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions into the territory. [1]
What it means for travelers
On average, there are more than 30,000 flights a day in Europe's skies, so the flights hit by threats are a small share of the total. [1] Even so, the earlier threats led to hundreds of passengers being diverted. [1]
If your flight is diverted, the Aer Lingus example shows one response: the airline said it would work to reaccommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible. [1] A LOT passenger's flight was aborted and moved to a later time after officials cited safety protocols. [2]
Sources
- More Bomb Threats Divert Flights, Cause Disruption in Europe — Insurance Journal
- Wave of bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe — Yahoo
Written from the sources above and checked twice before publishing. How we work · Report an error
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