Fighter jets escort airliners as bomb threats force diversions across Europe

Italian fighter jets shadowed a Finnair flight into Rome and Bulgarian MiG-29s escorted three Ryanair planes to the ground on Thursday, while an Aer Lingus jet bound for Rome was diverted to a French air base. No explosives have been reported found, and investigators are examining whether the wave of threats amounts to a hybrid attack.

Italian and Bulgarian fighter jets escorted passenger planes to the ground on Thursday, and an Aer Lingus jet was diverted to a French military air base, as a wave of bomb threats against commercial flights forced more than 10 airliners to divert or make precautionary landings across Europe. According to Anadolu Agency, four planes landed in Czechia, three each in Bulgaria and Italy, and one each in Belgium and Austria. Investigators are examining whether the threats were part of a hybrid attack and who is behind them.

Escorted into Rome and Sofia

The Finnair flight landed at Rome's Fiumicino Airport on Thursday morning under military escort after anonymous warnings that a bomb was on board, Italian media reported. Bomb disposal teams then checked the aircraft in line with security procedures. Finnair communications director Stiina Tuunanen confirmed to Finnish broadcaster Yle that the airline had received a threat, but said nothing unusual was found and the warning was false. She described it as part of the recent string of bomb claims against flights and airports. "Flight safety is of course our top priority. We take this very seriously. Our staff are well trained for such situations," Tuunanen said.

In Bulgaria, three scheduled Ryanair flights from London, Copenhagen and Madrid switched to the emergency protocol used when a security threat is reported on board, instead of following normal landing procedures. The London–Sofia flight, carrying 184 passengers, landed around midday at the airport near Plovdiv, Bulgarian media reported, while the other two were directed to Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport. Bulgaria's Defense Ministry said Air Force MiG-29 fighters were scrambled after the threats and escorted all three airliners until they landed.

Passengers board a Ryanair jet on an airport apron

Aer Lingus jet lands at a French air base

The Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, with six crew members and 151 passengers on board, made an emergency landing at the Évreux-Fauville Air Base in Normandy, France, after a bomb threat. The plane landed safely, and the situation was placed under investigation.

Other carriers were caught up as well. A Wizz Air plane that took off from Milan Malpensa for Warsaw at 7 a.m. local time made an emergency landing in Vienna, and the airline said the necessary security measures had been taken. A Warsaw–Brussels flight landed safely in Brussels; Belgian federal police said no additional security measures were needed but opened an investigation into whether the incident was linked to the recent threats. Polish flag carrier LOT had the aircraft and luggage on its Warsaw–Paris service checked in detail, and nothing dangerous was found.

'Low credibility,' but not taken lightly

Czech police said they had received threats that explosives had been placed on four planes heading to Prague. They assessed the credibility of the warnings as low but said they were not taking them lightly and prepared for the landings together with airport authorities. According to CNN, an anonymous email was sent to Prague and other airports.

At Salzburg Airport in Austria, police launched a large-scale operation and tightened checks at vehicle and building entrances; the terminal was not evacuated, and flights were not disrupted. In Denmark, broadcaster DR reported that military bomb disposal teams searched two planes that landed at Copenhagen Airport after threats and found nothing suspicious. Copenhagen police have opened an investigation.

Thursday's alerts follow a string of similar incidents. On Nov. 3, threats against two flights to Rome from Lisbon and Dublin turned out to be false, and CNN and AP reported that a plane bound for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary earlier this week after a threat received in flight. Reuters and CNN said at least eight flights from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw were targeted. No one has claimed responsibility, and officials have not attributed blame.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons

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Fighter jets escort airliners as bomb threats force diversions across Europe