Seven flights grounded after Tuesday threats

Seven flights across Europe were grounded on Tuesday after receiving malicious hoax bomb threats. The disruptions affected routes departing from the United Kingdom and traveling to Poland, Spain, and Bulgaria. All affected aircraft landed safely and underwent security inspections by local authorities.

Two Ryanair flights leaving the UK on Tuesday morning were the subject of the threats. One plane departed London Heathrow and the other left Manchester. The Heathrow flight was originally bound for Warsaw Chopin Airport. It was diverted to Warsaw Modlin Airport after an alert was raised on the aircraft at 9.54 a.m. The plane landed seven minutes later. The Modlin airport closed while emergency services responded. The threat was cancelled at 12.21 p.m., and flight operations returned to normal in the afternoon.

The Manchester flight landed at Murcia Airport in south-east Spain. Government delegate for the Murcia region Francisco Lucas stated that 114 passengers and seven crew members disembarked the aircraft while a security check took place. The Guardia Civil ruled out the presence of explosives on the plane. Lucas confirmed that the airport resumed normal operations after the inspection. A passenger on the flight said that the plane stopped quite suddenly upon landing. She noted that the aircraft was surrounded by fire engines, police, and a bomb squad before passengers were informed of the threat.

A third incident involved a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Sofia. The plane was searched after landing in the Bulgarian capital. Bulgarian transport minister Georgi Peev told reporters that bomb threats had been received regarding two planes traveling to Sofia. One was from Bergamo, Italy, and the other was from Dublin. Peev said neither aircraft was diverted and no explosive devices were found during the inspections. The Met Police aviation unit confirmed it was monitoring the situation. A spokesman said no security issues were identified following the threats made against flights after they had taken off.

The UK government said its aviation security systems have well-tested processes for dealing with potential and malicious hoax threats. A government spokesperson noted that world-leading police and intelligence agencies work closely every day to keep people safe. Counter-Terrorism Policing stated it was aware of a number of incidents across Europe in relation to bomb threats. The agency said there was no active investigation by CTP into any of these matters. The group remained in contact with relevant UK police forces and international partners.

This event followed a similar incident on Monday. A Wizz Air plane from London Luton Airport was due to fly to Sofia. The aircraft was diverted to Budapest after a threat was received during the flight. Hungarian defence minister Ruszin-Szendi Romulusz said one of the country’s fighter jets was involved in the response. The A321 airbus was scheduled to land in Sofia at approximately 1.25 p.m. Local time. Flight tracking data showed the plane was diverted towards Hungary while flying over Bosnia and Herzegovina.