Seven European flights searched after suspected bomb threats turn out to be hoaxes
No explosives were found after security checks were carried out on passenger planes in Italy, Poland, Spain, and Bulgaria on Tuesday.
At least seven passenger flights across Europe were inspected on Tuesday following a series of suspected bomb threats, according to reports from BBC News, Moneycontrol, and Telegraph India. The alerts, which involved airlines including Ryanair, Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines, and Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), resulted in no injuries and no explosives being found on any aircraft.
In Italy, two Ryanair flights arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport from Lisbon and Dublin were searched by police bomb disposal experts. The flight from Dublin was escorted by the Italian Air Force until landing. Authorities cleared the alert after inspecting passengers, crew, and baggage.
In Poland, a LOT Polish Airlines flight from London Heathrow was diverted to Warsaw-Modlin airport instead of its intended destination, Warsaw-Chopin. Modlin airport temporarily suspended operations during the inspection of the 181 people on board, but later resumed normal operations after the search yielded no explosives. A separate SAS flight from Copenhagen also faced a threat at Chopin airport, though it landed as scheduled.
Bulgarian Transport Minister Georgi Peev stated that two planes travelling to Sofia, one from Bergamo and another from Dublin, were checked following bomb threat emails. Bulgarian border police and the Specialised Counter-Terrorism Unit conducted the searches, which found no explosives.
In Spain, a Ryanair flight from Manchester carrying 121 people was inspected after landing in Murcia. Spanish government delegate Francisco Lucas confirmed that no explosives were found on the aircraft after security checks were completed.