Bomb threats trigger flight diversions and emergency landings across Europe
Fox News foreign correspondent Jeff Paul reports on a string of bomb threats that prompted several commercial aircraft to divert or land unexpectedly across Europe. The incidents involved Aer Lingus, Finnair and Wizz Air flights, following earlier security alerts that authorities later determined were hoaxes.
At least 11 flights across Europe were diverted or ordered to make emergency landings Thursday after receiving bomb threats that officials said were unfounded.
The affected aircraft had departed from cities including Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw. Authorities had not immediately identified who was behind the threats.
The latest disruption followed a similar series of warnings issued to European flights Tuesday, which the U.K. government characterized as “malicious hoax threats.”
“After receiving a threat about an improvised explosive device aboard four aircraft bound for Prague, we are coordinating with colleagues at Prague Airport ahead of their arrival. We consider the credibility of the threats to be low,” Czech police said on X. Officials later reported that searches of the aircraft produced “negative results.”
The threats emerged as European officials increasingly accuse Russia and Iran of conducting “hybrid attacks” and sabotage operations — allegations rejected by both Moscow and Tehran, Reuters reported.
A Ryanair aircraft remains at Sofia Airport after flights from Copenhagen and Madrid arrived there, according to Bulgaria’s interior minister, amid bomb threats that prompted unscheduled landings across Europe on Nov. 5, 2026. (Reuters)
An Aer Lingus flight traveling from Dublin to Rome was redirected to a military air base in western France after a bomb threat, according to the office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. The aircraft landed safely at Evreux in Normandy, and all 151 passengers and six crew members left the plane, the office said.
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A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels completed its journey to Brussels, where crews searched the aircraft and found no dangerous or suspicious objects, the airline said.
A Wizz Air flight flying from Milan to Bucharest also landed safely after a bomb threat, according to airport spokesperson Teo Postelnicu.
A police officer and a detection dog examine a Ryanair aircraft and its luggage after the airline’s operations center reported a bomb threat during a flight from Manchester to Murcia, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, in Murcia on Nov. 3, 2026. (Reuters)
Finnair said Flight 1761 from Helsinki to Rome had been targeted by a bomb threat. A search conducted after the aircraft arrived in the Italian capital found no explosives or other suspicious items.
Three Ryanair flights headed for Sofia, Bulgaria, were forced to carry out emergency landings after bomb threats were reported onboard.
A Finnair aircraft is parked on the tarmac at Fiumicino Airport near Rome, Italy, on Nov. 5, 2026. The plane arrived from Helsinki after Italian Air Force jets escorted it to its scheduled destination following bomb threats that caused several flights to land unexpectedly across Europe. (Reuters)
Two of the flights, departing from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed safely at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport, airport officials told reporters. A third aircraft bound for Sofia from London Stansted was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city, where it also landed safely, according to Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev.
