A series of bomb threats against passenger flights across Europe prompted emergency searches on Tuesday, briefly closed an airport outside Warsaw and led to a military escort into Rome. All of the planes landed safely, and searches found no explosives.
A day of threats
At least two flights to Warsaw, two to Sofia, two to Rome and one to Murcia in Spain were threatened on Tuesday. A flight to Sofia had been threatened the day before. An Israel-bound cruise ship also received a threat. The airlines affected included Polish carrier LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair
Ryanair appeared to be the hardest hit, with four of its flights targeted.
Spain
In Spain, airport operator Aena activated an emergency protocol over a bomb alert on a Ryanair flight from Manchester. The plane landed in Murcia at 10:30 a.m. without incident. Parts of the airport were cordoned off, and officials later said the report was a hoax. Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in the Murcia region, said on X that officials had ruled out explosives after passengers, crew and aircraft were checked.
Italy
In Rome, a Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed at Fiumicino airport after an email reported a bomb on board. A second Ryanair flight, from Dublin, was also searched at Fiumicino. The airport operator’s source said the alert was cleared and the airport carried on as usual. The Italian Air Force escorted one of the Ryanair planes into the capital.
Bulgaria and Poland
In Bulgaria, threats were made against flights from Milan/Bergamo and Dublin to Sofia. Both landed safely. The Dublin flight, operated by Ryanair, carried 186 passengers. Transport Minister Georgi Peev said there were no signs of explosives on either aircraft.
The incidents followed a day after a plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after a similar threat in the air. In Poland, an airport outside the capital was briefly shut down.
Why the pattern matters
Hoax threats against aircraft are not new, and most end the same way: a search, a delay and no device. What stood out on Tuesday was the concentration. Rhys Jones, an analysis manager at the aviation risk consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions, said seven confirmed bomb threats against flights in a single day was exceptional.
That clustering has prompted speculation about who is behind it. A co-founder of a risk-intelligence company told ABC News that a Russian angle was possible, while also noting that Iranian hybrid activity was active in parts of Europe. That is one analyst’s view. None of the reports reviewed for this article carried an official attribution, and no authority has publicly named a suspect or a motive.
What passengers should know
Each threat triggers a set procedure. Crews alert air traffic control, the aircraft is diverted or continues to the nearest suitable airport, and police bomb disposal teams search the plane, the baggage and the passengers. That process explains why a hoax can keep an aircraft on the ground for hours even when nothing is found.
Travellers on the affected routes should expect delays and possible rebooking. Airlines generally advise passengers to check their flight status directly and to follow crew instructions. Ryanair declined to comment immediately on Tuesday.
What comes next
Investigators will now try to trace the origin of the threats, including the email reported on the Lisbon-Rome flight. They will also try to establish whether the warnings were coordinated. If they were, authorities in several countries are likely to share information and consider whether further flights could be targeted.
For now, the picture is reassuring in one sense and troubling in another. No one was hurt and no device was found, but a determined hoaxer can still strain airport security, tie up military and police resources, and disrupt thousands of journeys at little cost.
