Bomb threats hit flights into Bucharest as wave of European alerts continues

Threat forces evacuation of Milan-Bucharest flight

On Thursday, 5 November, the captain of a Wizz Air flight from Milan received a bomb threat on board while the aircraft was starting its landing approach to Henri Coandă airport in Otopeni. The 182 passengers were urgently evacuated, and the aircraft was taken to an isolated area where explosives teams checked the cabin and baggage. About two and a half hours later, authorities confirmed that nothing supported the threat. Stirile ProTV reported that the threat reportedly arrived by email from Italy, and the operating company said the aircraft had been declared safe.

Crisis cell and follow-up alerts

Authorities set up a crisis cell at Otopeni that day. On Thursday evening, the Bucharest airport operator received two more threats by email. Intelligence service SRI also reported a bomb threat against a KLM flight to Tel Aviv that had a stop in Romania. SRI assessed that threat as false, but the pilots, after consulting their company and given the destination, asked for a pyrotechnic check, so passengers, hold baggage and the aircraft were all examined. An Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest was also targeted by a bomb alert. The airport operator said the checks were already complete, found no real threat, and that aircraft had taken off and landed as planned.

A wave across Europe

Deutsche Welle counted no fewer than 21 passenger flights disrupted by bomb threats across Europe by 18:00 on Thursday, and put the total of civil flights affected in recent days at 30. Stirile ProTV described more than 25 such alerts hitting scheduled flights in a single day, five of them in Romania. The affected routes ran mostly to and from Italy, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, along with Romania and Serbia, and the operators included Ryanair, Finnair, Wizz Air and Aer Lingus. Bulgaria's transport ministry said threats had been made against three Ryanair aircraft bound for Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London-Stansted. The London flight was diverted to Plovdiv, and none of the three had explosives on board. An Italian fighter escort guided a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome to Fiumicino, and a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna was also targeted. An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome landed unscheduled at the French air base at Évreux. All aircraft landed safely and no explosives were found.

Passenger flights disrupted by 18:00, 5 November21

Civil flights affected in recent days30

Passenger flights disrupted by 18:00, 5 November

21 flights

Civil flights affected in recent days

30 flights

Data from the article text

SRI position and investigation

SRI said it treats every threat against aircraft seriously, although none has been confirmed. Its spokesperson, Ovidiu Marincea, said:

“Each alert is assessed with seriousness. Activating these procedures does not mean the existence of a bomb has been confirmed.”

Marincea said the identities of the perpetrators and any links between the incidents are under investigation, coordinated with several states. He added that claims circulating publicly do not prove where the threats came from. He urged passengers to stay calm, follow notices from authorities and airlines, and obey staff instructions, warning that extra checks may cause delays but serve passenger safety.