Hoax bomb threats hit dozens of flights across Europe in a week

Who's saying what

• The EU and European governments

  EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said "Any threats against civilians are unacceptable" and that it was "too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked". UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called them "malicious hoax threats". Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said: "It is worrying, and we take the threat seriously." Czech police said they "perceive the credibility of the threats as low".¹²⁴

• Airlines

  Finnair said two flights "faced unfounded hoax bomb scares" and landed safely, and Aegean called the threats against its flights "baseless".¹

• French authorities on the Aer Lingus flight

  Évreux prosecutor Rémi Coutin said the pilot "allegedly refused" to land at the military base, "preferring a civilian airport". The Prime Minister's office said the jets were ordered up because the pilot "did not cooperate as expected". The prosecutor's office opened an investigation, and the pilot and co-pilot were questioned, then allowed to leave.¹⁵⁷

• Aer Lingus and the pilots' union

  The airline said the crew "acted impeccably and were thoroughly professional". The Irish Air Line Pilots' Association said both pilots "cooperated fully with the French authorities" and called the questioning "generally standard procedure".⁶

• What is known about the source

  No one has been publicly identified. An email to Rome's Fiumicino airport was signed on behalf of a self-described anti-feminist group, according to AP and The Journal; AP said it was unclear whether another airport's similar threat came from the same group. Bogotá City Hall said a threat was sent from an account tied to one of its public health networks, and that international hackers may have used the accounts. Euronews says motives are unknown, and notes that authorities sometimes link hybrid attacks in Europe to Russia or Iran; no authority has made that link for these threats in the reports read here.¹⁴⁵

What's next

French authorities say an investigation is under way into the source of the alerts, and authorities are investigating the threat to a Ryanair flight from Rome to Lisbon on 6 November. Copenhagen Airport re-screened baggage after police received hostile intelligence about air traffic. The EU says it is following events with national authorities.²³⁴

The full story

Since 2 November anonymous emails and phone calls have warned of bombs on passenger flights across Europe, leading to diversions, searches and fighter escorts, particularly on low-cost carriers and on routes to or from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Italy. All the planes landed safely and no explosives have been reported found. France opened an inquiry after an Aer Lingus pilot allegedly declined to land at a military base; the airline and the pilots' union say the crew behaved properly. No one has been publicly identified as responsible, and the EU says it is too early to say whether the threats are linked.

checked Nov 6, 2026