Photo: FORTA / Reuters TV via Reuters
Bomb threats disrupted at least seven passenger flights across Europe on Tuesday, November 3, triggering a diversion, security searches and an Italian fighter escort. No explosives were found in the reported checks, and it remained unclear whether the incidents were connected.
The affected flights arrived in Poland, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria. The BBC reported seven aircraft were inspected, while a Reuters factbox detailed the routes and the responses by airport and national authorities. No responsible party had been identified in those accounts.
Two Warsaw-bound flights checked
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin was diverted to Warsaw-Modlin after a bomb alert. Modlin Airport’s initial statement said the Boeing 737 MAX landed at 10:01am local time with 181 people aboard. The airport temporarily suspended operations and later reopened.
LOT subsequently said the aircraft’s security inspection found no suspicious items and that passengers were transferred to Warsaw Chopin by coach after border checks, according to AeroTime’s report quoting the airline.
A separate SAS flight from Copenhagen landed normally at Warsaw Chopin and underwent security checks. SAS said passengers disembarked safely; Polish authorities said the threat was not confirmed, Reuters reported.
Ryanair searches in Spain and Italy
A Ryanair flight from Manchester landed in Murcia, southeastern Spain, where 114 passengers and seven crew members disembarked for security checks. Spanish government delegate Francisco Lucas later said police had ruled out explosives on the aircraft, according to AeroTime. The BBC also reported that Spanish authorities found no explosives.
Two other Ryanair flights, from Lisbon and Dublin, were searched at Rome Fiumicino. Airport operator ADR said the Lisbon flight landed at 9:40am CET and the Dublin flight at 10:30am CET, with the Dublin aircraft escorted by the Italian Air Force until landing, Reuters reported.
Checks covered the aircraft, baggage, passengers and crew. The alert was cleared, and ADR said there was no bomb threat to the airport itself and other flights were not affected. The BBC also reported that the Rome searches found no explosives.
Sofia origins corrected to Bergamo and Dublin
In Bulgaria, officials identified two threatened flights arriving in Sofia from Bergamo, Italy, and Dublin, not a flight from Israel as initially reported. Transport Minister Georgi Peev said both aircraft were searched and nothing suspicious was found, according to Bulgarian National Radio’s updated account. The threats arrived by email.
Reuters identified the aircraft as a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo with 176 passengers and a Ryanair flight from Dublin with 185 passengers. The BBC, citing Peev, said neither Sofia-bound flight was diverted. JBizNews’ corrected Sofia report explains the change from the initial flight-origin information.
Monday’s Wizz Air diversion
The Tuesday alerts followed a separate incident on Monday, November 2, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest after a bomb threat. A Hungarian Gripen fighter was scrambled to escort the aircraft, Reuters reported, citing Hungary’s defence minister.
Security checks found nothing, and the aircraft later continued to Sofia, according to the BBC and Bulgarian National Radio. The reports do not establish that Monday’s threat and Tuesday’s incidents were part of a coordinated campaign.
JBizNews Desk | Europe
© JBizNews.com. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution is strictly prohibited.
