European airlines report over a dozen flights targeted by new wave of bomb threats

More than a dozen flights across Europe faced bomb threats on Thursday, prompting diversions and emergency landings, according to authorities in Milan. The latest round of incidents follows a series of hoax threats earlier this week that caused similar disruptions, including one flight that required a military escort.

Aer Lingus rerouted a plane traveling from Dublin to Rome to a military air base in Evreux, western France. The aircraft is currently standing on the tarmac under an overcast sky. Metal gates surround the base, and a Red Cross vehicle is parked nearby. It is not yet clear where passengers and crew are being held while explosives experts inspect the plane.

Finnair confirmed that two of its flights, AY1761 from Helsinki to Rome and AY1471 from Helsinki to Vienna, received unfounded bomb threats. The airline stated that both flights landed safely at their destinations and that all customers have disembarked. Inspectors found nothing suspicious on the aircraft. The plane bound for Rome will be inspected and then return to Helsinki, while the Vienna flight will return to normal service after its check.

In the Czech Republic, police deployed to Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport after receiving threats of explosive devices on four incoming planes. Officials said all necessary security measures were activated for the landings. Subsequent searches of the aircraft found nothing suspicious, though police did not specify where the flights originated.

The incidents affect routes originating from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, and Warsaw. These threats arrive amid rising geopolitical tensions and reports of other disruptions, including attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, drone incursions in Europe, and mysterious triggers on alert apps.