Around 20 commercial flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats for a third consecutive day on Thursday, prompting Italian, French and Bulgarian fighter jets to scramble, flight diversions and security checks at multiple airports. All aircraft landed safely, with no explosives found.
Bulgaria’s air force escorted three Ryanair flights heading to Sofia from Madrid , Copenhagen and London.
Emails sent to the Rome and Sofia airports during a series of hoax bomb alerts across Europe Thursday were signed “the fighters of the Male State”, according to the text seen by AFP and the company operating Rome airport. All three aircraft underwent inspections, with no explosives discovered, an interior ministry spokesperson told AFP.
Four threatened planes bound for Prague also landed safely.
Danish police said two flights threatened in Copenhagen arrived as scheduled, adding there had never been any danger to passengers or others at the airport.
France’s prime minister’s office said the aircraft was escorted after its pilot allegedly failed to cooperate with authorities as expected. Evreux prosecutor Remi Coutin told AFP the pilot had allegedly refused to land at the military base, preferring a civilian airport. Aer Lingus said its airline and pilots fully cooperated with French authorities. Lou Osborn, founder of Inpact, a group monitoring clandestine Russian activities, told AFP the organization uses Nazi symbolism and has thousands of members. Its links to Russian authorities remain unclear, she said. Prague Airport also received anonymous email threats, while Heathrow Airport said a threat it received was deemed not credible.
