Bomb threats against planes, cruise ship across Europe

Air travellers across Europe have have faced mid-air disruption after a string of bomb threats forced several planes to make emergency landings.

Seven planes landed safely following a series of threats that turned out to be hoaxes, but triggered searches, diversions and, in one case, a fighter jet escort.

The impacted airlines included Irish budget carrier Ryanair, Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, and Wizz Air.

A cruise ship in the Mediterranean was also the target of a similar fake threat.

The incidents on Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) came one day after a plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary following a similar mid-air bomb threat. No one was injured.

Italy

A Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed in Rome’s Fiumicino airport early on Tuesday after receiving of an email reporting a bomb was on board, according to information provided by a Fiumicino official with knowledge of the events.

Police bomb disposal experts carried out security checks of passengers, crew and baggage and found no explosives.

There was also a bomb threat reported on another Ryanair flight to Rome from Dublin, with no explosives found, the official, who requested to remain unidentified, said.

The Italian Air Force confirmed it scrambled two Air Force Eurofighters to “intercept and escort” a plane bound for Rome.

It said it responded immediately “following a report of a suspected threat aboard a civilian aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome Fiumicino”.

Poland

A flight by Polish airline LOT from London’s Heathrow Airport to Warsaw’s main Chopin Airport was diverted to nearby Modlin Airport after a bomb threat, Polish press agency PAP reported. Modlin Airport was closed temporarily.

LOT said “nothing was found on the aircraft” after a search of the jet at Modlin.

Chopin Airport also received information about a potentially dangerous item on board a Scandinavian Airlines, or SAS, flight inbound from Copenhagen, PAP reported.

Standard safety procedures were immediately implemented, and one of the airport’s runways was closed.

Spain

Spanish officials on Tuesday ruled out the presence of explosives on a Ryanair plane from Manchester that landed in southern Spain’s Murcia Airport following a bomb threat.

Bulgaria

Bulgarian authorities found no signs of explosives on two aircraft at the Sofia International Airport that had both received bomb threats Tuesday while en route.

The two planes, originating in Bergamo, Italy, and Dublin, Ireland, were inspected by counter-terrorism police after landing in Sofia.

Hungary

The bomb threats came after a Wizz Air flight that departed Luton Airport near London on Monday was forced to divert to Hungary after a bomb threat received while the plane was in the air.

Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said in a Facebook post on Monday that a fighter jet from the Hungarian Air Force was scrambled to intercept the Wizz Air flight and escorted it safely to the Liszt Ferenc International Airport in Budapest.

Greece

A specialist diver searched the Panama-flagged Crown Iris cruise ship on the Greek island of Syros for explosives after an unknown person said a device had been attached to the boat’s hull, reports Reuters.

Early checks found no explosive device. Coast ​guard experts are expected to carry out further inspections before the ship could resume its voyage to Israel.

Mystery who is behind hoax threats

The threats against the passenger flights come just hours after supermarket fridges and freezers across Europe were shutdown by cyberattacks, causing food worth millions of dollars to be spoiled.

There are also continuing concerns across the continent that Russia and Iran are behind “hybrid attacks” on infrastructure. Both countries deny this.

- With The Associated Press