At least 34 European flights were disrupted by hoax bomb threats this week, forcing diversions and emergency landings across a wide region including Italy, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, France, Greece, Serbia, and Czechia. The incidents occurred from Monday to Thursday, impacting airlines such as Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Finnair, easyJet, Aegean Airlines, Iberia, Sky Express, Air Serbia, and LOT Polish Airlines.
UK and European Airports Respond to Multiple Threats
Heathrow Airport and Birmingham Airport in the UK received bomb threat calls overnight, involving four flights at Heathrow. The Metropolitan Police’s aviation police command investigated and found no security issues.
On Thursday, four flights were diverted in Czech Republic and two in Italy amid the threats. For example, a Ryanair flight from Pescara, Italy to Brussels-Charleroi was searched after the word “bomb” was scrawled in the onboard toilet. A Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Cork was delayed due to an anonymous phone bomb threat. Additionally, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Évreux, France, with the pilot questioned for initially refusing to land at a military base.
Male State Group Claims Responsibility for Some Threats
Bomb threats emailed to Rome’s Fiumicino and Sofia airports were signed by the “fighters of Male State,” a
Russian far-right, ultranationalist misogynistic movement founded in 2016 and banned as extremist in Russia. The Male State email warned, “Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red.” The group’s founder, Vladislav Pozdnyakov, has not publicly commented. While authorities continue investigating, no conclusive link to state actors like Russia or Iran has been established.
Statements from Aviation Authorities and Officials
Nick Careen, Iata’s senior vice-president for operations, safety and security, condemned the disruptions, stating, “Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously.” EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas called
the threats against civilians “unacceptable” but said it is too early to confirm if the incidents are connected. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto described the threats as “under-threshold warfare,” intended to escalate tensions without allowing attribution. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled accusations linking Russia to associated cyberattacks as “absurd.”
Related Hybrid Warfare Activities and Security Impact
The bomb threat hoaxes coincided with cyber-attacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems in Europe, raising concerns about coordinated hybrid warfare tactics. Aviation experts note that while bomb threat hoaxes occur daily, the volume and coordination seen this week are unusual. Such actions exploit publicly available airline and flight data, complicating security responses.
Airlines implement layered bomb threat management and screening to mitigate risks, but diversions and searches remain costly and disruptive.
Passenger Disruptions and Operational Challenges
Passengers on at least 14 flights faced delays and diversions on Thursday due to the security alerts. Flights had to undergo extensive security searches after being ordered to land or divert mid-route. Despite these disruptions, all affected flights landed safely without discovery of any suspicious items. The incidents represented a small fraction of the 27,400 flights scheduled in Europe on Thursday, but operational impacts were felt across airports and airlines.
Expert Analysis on the Scale and Coordination of Threats
Rhys Jones, an analyst at Osprey Flight Solutions, described the threats
as a “reasonably chaotic campaign with no particular region targeted,” aimed primarily at causing disruption and observing security responses. He noted that heightened security measures and increased media coverage are expected, though repeated fake threats risk normalizing such alerts and weakening future reactions. Airlines maintain strict safety protocols, but the current wave of hoaxes highlights vulnerabilities due to detailed operational data available openly online.
