New wave of bomb hoaxes hits 27 passenger flights across Europe

Hoax bomb threats hit at least 27 affected flights around Europe on Thursday from Ireland to Bulgaria, the second wave this week, forcing some to make unplanned landings and prompting fighter jets to escort or intercept others.

While no country has attributed blame for the threats, ⁠they come as many European officials are accusing Russia of masterminding sabotage and "hybrid attacks" — often cheap, easily deniable and not expected to trigger an armed response.

Denmark, Poland and Romania, all affected by Thursday's disruptions, have previously accused Moscow directly, while Germany blamed Russia for an attack on Leipzig airport in August. Britain has blamed Russia in the past but linked Iran to a suspected plot to attack a US air base. Both Russia and Iran deny any involvement.

Eric Schouten, head of the aviation security group Dyami, said most of the countries affected supported Ukraine in its war against Russia's invasion.

"From a geopolitical view, I'm thinking, you always have to think about the scenario of hybrid warfare, where a country in this way — today we are looking at Russia, right? — is attacking us on multiple fronts, from railways to supermarkets to blood banks, most recently. The energy sector, the internet sector, and the aviation sector are among those," he said.

Flights to Milan, Rome, Paris, Prague, Sofia affected

Over France, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office said he had sent fighter jets to intercept an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome and escort it to an air force base at Evreux after the pilot did not cooperate with authorities as expected. No reason was given for the pilot's behaviour.

Bulgaria's air force said its fighter jets had escorted three airliners to the ground. Ryanair planes from Copenhagen and Madrid to Sofia landed as planned while a flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second city.

Spanish authorities received three emailed bomb threats in under 20 minutes involving two Air Europa departures from Madrid to Paris and four inbound Iberia flights from Rome and Milan, Spain's Guardia Civil said.

Several aircraft in Madrid were halted or returned to their stands and passengers were disembarked while planes were inspected.

In Warsaw, a LOT flight to Paris was stopped as it taxied towards take-off and passengers were transferred to another aircraft. A flight from Cork in Ireland was delayed 90 minutes after the airport received a threat, the airport operator said.

At Copenhagen airport in Denmark, two planes were searched, police said.

Italian media reported that a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw had been diverted to Vienna.

Two Easyjet flights from Britain, one flight from Ireland and one from Greece landed as scheduled in Prague after receiving bomb threats, as did a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna, a Polish LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels, a Hungarian Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest, and an Air Serbia flight from Belgrade, also to Bucharest.

The Italian news agency ANSA said two planes had landed as planned in Milan, while a person familiar with the matter said Italy's air force escorted a Finnair plane coming from Helsinki to its scheduled landing in Rome.

The operator of Rome's Fiumicino Airport said there had been no disruption to services, and that departing passengers were philosophical.

"It's more complicated with everything that's going on, but what else are we going to do?" said Spaniard Lucia Parga. "We still have to get around. So, well, we just have to deal with it as best we can."

Another traveller, Gabriele Franzese, added: "You can't worry too much about every piece of news. If the plane crashes, so be it. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen anyway."

Cyberattacks on supermarkets and blood banks

Joji Waites, director of flight safety for the British Airline Pilots’ Association, said it was industry practice that airlines did not act on threats unless they had been rated credible by assessors.

Eliran Almog, CEO of aviation cybersecurity firm Cyviation, said the hoaxes could serve both to disrupt operations and to observe how airlines, airports and authorities respond.

"These aviation threats are also occurring in the same period as cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems across Europe," Almog said.

"Different essential services are experiencing disruption that carries economic costs and can undermine public confidence."

On Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received hoaxthreats.

This week, unidentified hackers for the second time shut down fridges in supermarkets in several European countries, also affecting French blood banks.