EUROPE. — Numerous passenger flights were affected by bomb threats across several European countries on Thursday, 5 November. This led to flight diversions, military escorts and extensive security checks. Reports on the number of flights varied: AFP initially reported at least 14 flights, while later reports placed the figure at nearly 30. No explosives or suspect items were found during the searches. The airlines whose flights were affected include Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Finnair, Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines, easyJet, Sky Express, Aegean Airlines, Iberia, Air Europa and Air Serbia.
One of the incidents was Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome, which was diverted to the Évreux air force base in France. The aircraft had 151 passengers and six crew members on board. All landed safely. The two pilots were later questioned by French authorities after the pilot allegedly initially refused to land at the military base. Aer Lingus, however, said the airline and its pilots fully cooperated with French authorities.
Three Ryanair flights en route to Bulgaria were also affected. Flights from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia, while a flight from London's Stansted airport was diverted to Plovdiv. Two Finnair flights from Helsinki received bomb threats. The flight to Rome was escorted by the Italian air force, while the other flight, operated by Jettime, landed safely in Vienna. Four aircraft heading to Prague in the Czech Republic were also subjected to security checks. A LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels and two Wizz Air flights from Milan, to Warsaw and Bucharest respectively, were also affected by threats.
The messages sent to airports in Rome and Sofia were signed by people describing themselves as "Fighters of the Male State". Male State, also known as Muzhskoye Gosudarstvo, is a Russian far-right and anti-feminist movement that is banned in Russia. The French news agency AFP, however, could not confirm that the organisation was actually behind the messages. It is also unclear whether all the threats across Europe are connected to each other. No country or organisation has been officially held responsible for the full wave of threats and investigations continue.
Sources: AFP, ANSA, BGNES, Associated Press, ABC News Australia
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
