Coordinated bomb threats disrupt at least 25 flights across Europe

European Airspace Paralyzed by Coordinated Bomb Threats

Coordinated bomb threats against passenger airliners disrupted European skies on Thursday, forcing multiple flights to make emergency landings and triggering widespread security sweeps. No explosives have been found in any of the incidents, but the chaos has severely disrupted air travel across the continent, NBC News reported.

A Feminist Grievance and a Pattern of Chaos

The threats, which targeted at least 25 flights, arrived as a coordinated series of anonymous emails and phone calls, according to multiple sources. Among the most specific was a threat received by Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, which was explicitly made in opposition to “your feminist regime,” a direct reference to Italy’s conservative Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. The Male State, a far-right Russian anti-feminist extremist group, claimed responsibility in an email for bomb threats against two Italy-bound flights, warning that an “explosion will occur in 60 minutes.” Today, your sky will be red.”

At least 15 European flights receive bomb threats in a single day

From the Skies to the Tarmac: A Day of Disruption

The scale of the operation was immense, affecting flights between 16 European countries, including Italy, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland. Passengers and crew on numerous carriers, including Aer Lingus, Finnair, Ryanair, and Wizz Air, were thrown into turmoil as flights were diverted, escorted by fighter jets, or subjected to intensive security screenings.

One of the first and most dramatic incidents involved Aer Lingus Flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome. Over French airspace, the pilots transmitted the emergency squawk code 7700 before diverting to a French air force base at Évreux. All 151 passengers and six crew members were evacuated while bomb disposal teams inspected the aircraft, Ynetnews reported. A similar drama played out for a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome, which was escorted by Italian air force jets to its destination before a bomb squad found nothing, NBC News confirmed.

European flights disrupted by bomb threats | DW News

In Bulgaria, three aircraft were forced to land, while flights from London to Sofia were diverted to Plovdiv, the country’s second city, Ynetnews noted. Spanish authorities received a flurry of threats, halting several Air Europa and Iberia flights in Madrid. Even a Ryanair flight from Pescara, Italy, to Brussels was delayed after the word “bomb” was discovered scrawled on a toilet wall, The Guardian added. While the total number of affected flights reached at least 25, this figure represents a minuscule fraction of the 27,400 flights scheduled in Europe on Thursday, according to Eurocontrol.

Capt Martin Drake, a former airline pilot and technical adviser to the British Airline Pilots’ Association, said airlines had security teams who assessed each threat on a traffic-light scale: green to keep going or red to be grounded, with an amber option only for flights yet to take off, allowing tighter checks and searches of the plane before clearing it to fly.

Coordinated bomb threats disrupt at least 25 flights across Europe — Photo: The Guardian

“If you want to deliberately disrupt a flight, then you need to do so once it’s airborne,” said Drake.

The Shadow of Hybrid Warfare

Eric Schouten, head of the aviation security group Dyami, said from a geopolitical view, one always has to think about the scenario of hybrid warfare, where a country in this way — today we are looking at Russia, right? Ynetnews reported.

Bomb Threats Trigger Evacuations and Airport Disruptions Across Europe

The concern is that these low-cost, deniable attacks are designed to sow chaos and erode public confidence. While investigators have found no evidence linking the threats to a specific state actor like Russia or Iran, the pattern aligns with a broader campaign of sabotage against critical infrastructure, including energy and internet sectors, according to The Jerusalem Post.

An American Perspective on European Turmoil

Bomb threats against passenger airliners caused chaos in the skies and airports of Europe, prompting emergency landings and security sweeps, but no explosives have been found, according to authorities. The global airlines body Iata, meanwhile, has condemned the disruption and called on authorities to swiftly identify the origin of the threats to prevent future occurrences.

Bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe as authorities investigate hoaxes

Despite the official assurances, the question of attribution remains unanswered. While the “Male State” has claimed responsibility for the threats against the Italy-bound flights, no evidence has emerged to confirm their involvement in the broader, continent-wide operation. European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas echoed the official stance, stating, “It is too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked.” The full extent of the coordinated campaign and its ultimate perpetrators remain a mystery, leaving European skies—and travelers—on edge.