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Five flights in Europe receive bomb threats on the same day, Reuters reports
Five passenger flights operated by different airlines received bomb threats across Europe on the same day, prompting diversions, searches and airport disruption. The incidents affected several countries, but authorities have not established whether they were connected.
A LOT flight from London diverted to Modlin Airport instead of Warsaw Chopin, and operations at Modlin were suspended for several hours. An SAS flight from Copenhagen landed in Warsaw and was searched; a Wizz Air flight bound for Sofia diverted to Budapest; a flight from Israel made an emergency landing in Sofia; and a Ryanair flight from Manchester was searched in Murcia, Spain.
In short
- Five flights in Europe received bomb threats on one day.
- Several planes diverted or were searched.
- It is unclear whether the threats were connected.
Explained simply
Commercial airlines carry passengers across national borders, so a security alert can prompt a pilot to divert and police to search an aircraft. Airports may also pause operations while emergency services respond, affecting other flights.
The flights were operated by LOT, SAS, Wizz Air and Ryanair, as well as an airline flying from Israel. The incidents involved airports in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Spain, alongside flights departing from London, Copenhagen and Manchester.
Bomb threats are treated seriously even when they prove unfounded, because authorities must assess possible danger to passengers and staff. Whether these alerts were related has not been established.