Hoax bomb threats disrupt four Europe flights, force temporary airport closure
Bomb warnings target two flights heading to Polish capital Warsaw, and another two heading to Spain and Bulgaria; all land without issue, and no explosives found upon arrival
WARSAW, Poland — Four European flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing the temporary closure of one Warsaw airport, but all planes landed safely and no explosives were found, authorities said.
Two bomb warnings targeted flights heading to the Polish capital of Warsaw, an SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen and one from London’s Heathrow airport operated by Polish airline LOT.
In a third incident, Aena, the Spanish airport operator, confirmed an emergency protocol was activated “due to a bomb alert” on a Ryanair flight from the northwestern UK city of Manchester to Murcia in southeastern Spain.
A Wizz Air flight from Bergamo, Italy, was inspected after landing at 9:10 a.m. GMT in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, a Bulgarian interior ministry spokesperson told AFP.
On Monday, fighter jets were scrambled when a Wizz Air flight from London’s Luton airport to Sofia was diverted following a bomb threat and forced to make an emergency stop in Budapest.
Tuesday’s Ryanair flight landed without incident in Murcia, and the emergency plan was deactivated after checks by Spain’s Civil Guard.
Scandinavian Airlines said it could “confirm that a threat has been made against flight SK751 between Copenhagen and Warsaw.”
“The aircraft landed normally in Warsaw and the passengers have disembarked.”
It arrived at Warsaw’s Chopin airport, which closed one runway as the plane underwent a security inspection, but no explosives were found.
The LOT flight, which had also been scheduled to arrive at Chopin, was diverted to the Polish capital’s other airport, Warsaw Modlin.
Authorities closed that airport following the alert, but the Boeing 737 MAX also landed safely.
“The passengers were evacuated and the plane underwent security checks. Nothing was found,” Modlin airport spokesman Adam Szablowski told AFP.
“The airport has been reopened and is operating normally.”
Hungary’s defense minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Facebook that on Monday NATO’s air defense alert service had issued an alert for the Wizz Air flight from Luton.
“The Hungarian Defense Forces’ Gripen fighter jets took to the air within minutes and ensured the safe landing of the passenger aircraft in Budapest,” he said.
On October 19, a bomb threat forced an Austrian Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna to reroute to Bulgaria. No explosives were found.
The surge in bomb hoaxes comes a month after a copilot on an Israel-bound flydubai jet attacked the captain with an axe in an attempt to take control of the plane and crash it into Ben Gurion Airport.
The plan failed after the attacked pilot managed to open the cockpit door, allowing a group of Israeli passengers to tackle the Omani copilot while off-duty relief pilots took over the controls and made an emergency landing.
The incident prompted a review of Israel’s security directives for incoming flights, and a new set of stringent rules was announced this week, including a requirement for both foreign and Israeli airlines to submit crew information 48 hours prior to departure.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.