False bomb threats disrupt European flights, no explosives found

What happened on Thursday

On Thursday, 5 November, anonymous bomb threats against passenger aircraft disrupted air traffic across several European countries, for the second or third time that week depending on the report. Deutsche Welle counted at least twelve affected aircraft, n-tv reported more than a dozen, and stern.de put the figure at around 20 flights. Most of the threatened flights were to or from Italy, Bulgaria and Czechia, and involved Ryanair, Finnair, Wizz Air and Aer Lingus. Several aircraft were diverted or escorted by military jets, but every flight landed safely and no explosive devices were found.

Ryanair flights to Sofia and the email message

Three Ryanair aircraft flying from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted to Sofia were among those threatened. Bulgarian officials said fighter jets escorted them to the airport. Two landed in Sofia as planned, while the London Stansted flight was diverted to Plovdiv, east of the capital. Bulgaria's interior ministry said all three aircraft were searched and no bombs were found. An email sent to several Sofia airport addresses, which AFP said it had seen, claimed explosive devices had been placed on several flights and inside the airport. The sender styled itself as "fighters of the Men's State" and said the day's actions would go down in history.

Who may be behind the messages

The name "Men's State" refers to a far-right, anti-feminist group in Russia, but reports could not initially verify that it was behind the message. Lou Osborn of the NGO Inpact, which monitors covert Russian activity, said the group has thousands of members and supports the war against Ukraine. Whether the incidents are connected, and who sent the threats, remained unclear. Authorities in several countries have been involved.

Finnair, Aer Lingus and Copenhagen

Two Finnair flights from Helsinki, one to Rome and one to Vienna, were affected. Italian military jets escorted the Rome flight to Fiumicino airport, an airport spokesperson said, and Finnair said a bomb disposal team had found "nothing unusual" during its search. An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome landed unscheduled at the French air base Évreux in Normandy with 157 people on board. The French government said 151 passengers and six crew were brought to safety. The prime minister's office said the pilot initially did not cooperate, so fighter jets were ordered to intercept and escort the aircraft. French prosecutors said they opened an investigation because the pilot had first refused to land at Évreux and asked for a civil airport. Police in Denmark said there was no danger at Copenhagen airport after two affected aircraft landed there.

Wizz Air flights and passenger rights

A Wizz Air flight from Milan-Malpensa to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna after a threat was received in flight, according to Ansa, and Austrian police confirmed the landing. An Austrian police spokesperson called the threat "abstract" and said four flights to or from Vienna had received a similar email, which had nothing to do with the Milan flight. Passengers later continued to Poland on the same aircraft. A second Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest reached its destination, and a crisis team was set up at Bucharest airport. Feyza Türkön of the passenger rights portal Flightright said the situation counts as an exceptional circumstance.

“Flight cancellations linked to the bomb threats at various European airports are an exceptional circumstance.”

According to Türkön, airlines are generally exempt from paying compensation in such cases, but they must keep delays as short as possible and get passengers to their destination as quickly as possible, including by other airlines or by bus, train or taxi.