Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Wizz Air face coordinated bomb threats across Europe

At least 15 commercial flights across Europe encountered bomb threats on Thursday, November 5, resulting in diversions and emergency security screenings. Authorities reported that no explosives were discovered in any of the aircraft. The events followed at least seven similar threats earlier in the week, leading to questions about the coordination of the incidents.

An Aer Lingus service traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military air base in France. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office confirmed that all 151 passengers and six crew members exited the aircraft safely. Military bomb disposal specialists examined the plane after it changed course sharply and circled before heading to Evreux.

In Italy, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome was escorted by a fighter jet before experts checked the aircraft. Italian news agency ANSA reported that flights at Rome's Leonardo Da Vinci Airport were suspended for 30 minutes. A separate Finnair-operated flight from Helsinki landed in Vienna, while an Aegean Airlines service from Thessaloniki and a Ryanair service from Porto arrived safely at Milan Malpensa.

Wizz Air redirected a flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw toward Vienna, and another service bound for Bucharest landed safely after receiving a threat. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw reached Brussels, where authorities searched the aircraft and found no dangerous objects. Three Ryanair services bound for Sofia made emergency landings in Bulgaria, with one diverting to Plovdiv.

Bulgarian National Television reported that the Bulgarian transport ministry found no explosives or suspicious items on the aircraft landing in Sofia. Czech police stated that four threatened flights arrived in Prague and were checked without discovery of any devices. British authorities had previously dismissed threats against about seven flights earlier in the week as hoaxes. The British government noted on Tuesday that established aviation security procedures cover both potential dangers and malicious false alarms.

Paul Mason, an air transport security expert, told the BBC that the frequency of this week's threats was unusual. He suggested that the apparently credible presentation across multiple airlines indicated a very deliberate act rather than unrelated malicious calls. No individual or organization has claimed responsibility for the incidents. Authorities have not confirmed links between the threats or identified the party behind the campaign.