New bomb threats target Irish media, more flights

Developing story first seen 2 hours ago

DW · 2 hours ago

New bomb threats targeted Irish newsrooms and UK broadcaster Sky on Friday, adding media organisations to a wave of threats that has disrupted travel across Europe. RTÉ evacuated its buildings, while other organisations took security measures; the incidents come two days before Dublin hosts a high-level EU meeting.

It remains unclear whether one person or a co-ordinated group is behind the threats, though an RTÉ reporter said the group claiming Friday’s threats was the same as for earlier airline threats. More than two dozen flights were affected this week, and police in Denmark and the Czech Republic responded to threats later deemed false. Irish police and the Defence Forces are investigating, and Prime Minister Micheál Martin urged organisations to report threats.

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In short

Irish newsrooms and Sky received threats on Friday.
RTÉ evacuated its buildings as a precaution.
More than two dozen flights faced threats this week.

How this story developed

38 minutes ago New bomb threats on Friday targeted newsrooms across Ireland, prompting RTÉ and other media organisations to evacuate buildings or take security measures.
43 minutes ago New bomb threats targeted Irish newsrooms and UK broadcaster Sky on Friday, adding media organisations to a wave of threats that has disrupted travel across Europe.
53 minutes ago Irish newsrooms, including public broadcaster RTÉ, were evacuated on Friday after receiving bomb threats, as a wider wave of threats continued to disrupt air travel across Europe.

6 Nov, 13:43The Guardian Further bomb threats disrupt at least another 18 flights across Europe
6 Nov, 13:57DW New bomb threats target Irish media, more flights
6 Nov, 13:57Daily Mail Third day of European flights chaos as bomb threats are sent to at least a dozen planes including jets heading to and from Britain

Full account

Irish media organisations were targeted by bomb threats on Friday, prompting evacuations and police searches. Public broadcaster RTÉ temporarily stopped scheduled broadcasts and moved staff from its Dublin buildings; it later resumed from an outside broadcasting unit. The threats arrived amid a series of alerts involving flights across Europe, though the aircraft concerned landed safely and searches found no explosives.

At least 18 flights to or from nine countries were affected by Friday’s alerts, according to one report. Prague was among the hardest-hit airports, with threats concerning nine incoming or departing flights. Other reports described alerts involving aircraft over France, flights bound for Sofia and a Ryanair service from Rome that landed in Lisbon. Hungarian fighter jets escorted three civilian flights in the country’s airspace. Danish police also investigated a threat concerning Copenhagen airport, which said it was operating normally.

The new incidents followed threats earlier in the week that led to flights being diverted or searched. Estimates of the earlier disruption differ: one account said at least 35 flights were diverted or searched on Tuesday and Thursday, while another put Thursday’s total at 27. Despite the disruption, the Friday incidents represented a small share of European air traffic: one report said they affected 0.0674 per cent of the 26,709 flights scheduled that day. Sky, the British broadcaster, separately said it had received a security threat and reported it to the authorities; the reports did not establish whether it was connected to the aviation alerts.

Irish leaders called the threats serious and urged organisations to report them to police. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Gardaí and Defence Forces were investigating and that authorities needed a clear picture of the incidents. Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said it was not yet known whether a single individual or a coordinated effort was behind them. The timing has drawn attention because Dublin is due to host a high-level European Union meeting, but the accounts do not establish a link. Investigators have not publicly attributed the wider campaign to a state or terrorist group. Some officials have suggested a pattern of hybrid aggression, while reports also noted that certain earlier threats invoked a Russian far-right movement; these remain leads and suspicions, not confirmed responsibility.

Where outlets differ

From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:

The reports give different totals for the earlier flight disruption: one cites at least 35 flights diverted or searched across Tuesday and Thursday, while another says at least 27 were disrupted on Thursday alone.

Coverage of Friday’s aviation incidents varies in detail and scope. One report counts at least 18 affected flights across nine countries; another focuses on specific routes and incidents, including the Lisbon-bound Ryanair flight and Hungarian escorts.

The reports differ in emphasis on possible responsibility. One foregrounds wider concerns about geopolitical tensions and hybrid attacks; another says investigators have found no evidence tying the hoaxes to a hostile state or terror group, while describing suspicions and an unverified signature on some earlier threats.

The Irish broadcaster’s evacuation and interruption are covered across the reports, but only one gives the reported email timing and alleged 45-minute countdown. The accounts also vary in how prominently they connect the threats to Dublin’s forthcoming EU meeting.