PARIS. Bomb threats against passenger planes forced diversions, fighter-jet escorts and searches across Europe on Thursday, November 5, for the second time this week. Every flight landed safely, completed searches found no explosives, and no one has claimed responsibility. Read Zark News’s original report: Bomb Threats Divert Passenger Flights Across Europe.
Why it matters
A single threat can be dismissed only after a plane is searched. A wave arriving the same morning in many countries cannot. Each one can mean fighter jets, an unplanned landing and hundreds of passengers taken off a plane. By Thursday afternoon Reuters counted at least 25 affected flights. Ben Smith, chief executive of Air France-KLM, told journalists, according to Bloomberg: “To have this in a coordinated way, I don’t think we’ve seen this before.”
What we know
- The scale grew during the day. Zark News’s morning report listed more than a dozen flights. Reuters later counted at least 25, to cities including Milan, Rome, Paris, Prague and Sofia.
- The most serious diversion was in France. Aer Lingus EI402, an Airbus A320 from Dublin to Rome with 151 passengers and six crew, landed at the Évreux-Fauville military base, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Paris, escorted by a French fighter jet, French media said. Aer Lingus said it diverted “as a security precaution” and landed safely, and bomb teams examined the plane.
- Bulgaria, Finland and Poland were also hit. Bulgaria’s air force escorted three Ryanair planes, according to Reuters: flights from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia, one from London Stansted diverted to Plovdiv, and nothing dangerous was found. Italian jets escorted a Finnair plane to Rome, and a second Finnair flight landed as normal in Vienna. Poland’s LOT said one flight landed in Brussels after a warning, and another, bound for Paris, was stopped as it taxied to take off.
- Some threats arrived by email. Spain’s Guardia Civil said three emailed threats arrived in under 20 minutes from around 9 a.m., involving Air Europa and Iberia flights to and from Madrid, according to Reuters. Planes were halted and passengers taken off for inspections. Danish police said a bomb unit searched two planes at Copenhagen and found no devices, according to Reuters.
- No explosives have been reported. Every completed search reviewed here found nothing, the same result earlier this week, when the British government called the Monday-Tuesday incidents “malicious hoax threats,” according to Bloomberg.
What we still don’t know
- Who sent the threats. No one has claimed responsibility, and no country has blamed anyone for this week’s alerts, according to Reuters.
- Whether one sender or many are behind them. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was too early to say whether the incidents were linked, according to the Associated Press. Matthew Borie, of Osprey Flight Solutions, told AP the explanations could range from copycat hoaxes to one person or group behind many alerts.
- Whether this was meant only to disrupt. Some experts told Reuters the pattern should be examined as a possible “hybrid” operation, disruption meant to unsettle, short of open attack. That is a scenario, not a finding. No public evidence links the threats to Russia, Iran or any other state, and both deny running such operations.
- The final count, and whether anyone has been arrested. Tallies rose as new reports arrived, and no arrests had been publicly announced here.
What’s next
Investigations continue in several countries. Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic across Europe, said it is monitoring the situation and working with airlines and airports, according to Bloomberg. Security firms have warned airlines to prepare for more disruption, Zark News reported. What matters next is whether investigators identify a sender, say the waves were linked, or face another wave.
Timeline
- Monday, November 2: A Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest under Hungarian fighter escort. Nothing was found on board, Zark News reported.
- Tuesday, November 3: At least seven flights and a cruise ship in Greece received bomb threats. Searches found no devices.
- Thursday, November 5, morning: A new wave begins: EI402 diverts to Évreux, three Ryanair flights are escorted in Bulgaria, and Spain receives three emailed threats in under 20 minutes.
- Thursday, November 5, afternoon: Reuters puts the tally at at least 25 flights. Completed searches have found no explosives.
