Europe bomb threats disrupt 14 flights in fresh wave

What happened on Thursday

The first incident of the day was Aer Lingus flight EI402, an Airbus A320 from Dublin to Rome. It was diverted to the Évreux military airbase, 100 km west of Paris, and escorted in by French military aircraft. All 151 passengers and six crew were moved to safety while bomb disposal teams examined the aircraft; searches so far have found nothing suspicious.

Which other flights were hit

Three Ryanair flights bound for Bulgaria were affected: Copenhagen and Madrid services landed at Sofia, and a London Stansted service diverted to Plovdiv. Two Finnair flights from Helsinki were threatened: AY1761 to Rome was escorted by Italian fighters and landed, while AY1471 to Vienna, operated by Jettime, landed normally. Czech police said four aircraft heading to Prague had received threats, assessed as low credibility, and searches found nothing suspicious. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed safely with no suspicious items found. Two Wizz Air flights were hit: Milan–Warsaw diverted to Vienna, and Milan–Bucharest landed safely, with 182 passengers and seven crew evacuated while checks continued. A Ryanair Porto–Milan service and an Aegean Thessaloniki–Milan flight were also named.

Fresh wave after Monday and Tuesday alerts

The alerts follow bomb threats on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, 2 November, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest after a threat, escorted by Hungarian Gripen fighter jets. On Tuesday, 3 November, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received bomb threats, with searches in Rome, Murcia, Sofia. No explosives were found in any of those cases either.

What Indian travellers should check

Anyone flying to, from or through Europe should check flight status on the airline's website or app, and watch for its messages. If a connection may be missed, ask the airline how the rest of the journey will be handled before buying a separate ticket; keep receipts. Under EU passenger-rights guidance, security risks can count as extraordinary circumstances, so cash compensation is not automatic — but airlines must substantiate the circumstances, so ask for the explanation in writing. Meals and a hotel may still be due while waiting.

What is still unknown

No group has claimed responsibility, no country has attributed the threats to anyone, and authorities have not said whether the messages are connected or came from a single source. European officials have blamed Russia and Iran for 'hybrid attacks', and both deny any such campaign — but that is a wider dispute, not an attribution for these threats. What to watch next: whether the remaining inspections conclude and whether police identify who sent the threats. 📷 फोटो: Steve Knight, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0), archive photo, not flight EI402