At least seven flights across Europe were affected by bomb threats on Thursday morning, leading to diversions and emergency landings in several countries, just two days after a similar wave of threats disrupted air travel across the continent.
An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome with 151 passengers and six crew members was diverted to the French Air Force base at Évreux after the pilots declared an emergency over France. The office of the French prime minister said the plane landed safely and that a bomb disposal unit was dispatched to the scene. The French Air Force said fighter jets were scrambled to intercept and escort the aircraft to landing.
Bulgarian media, citing officials, reported that three planes made emergency landings in the country following bomb threats. In Belgium, a LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw landed safely in Brussels after a suspicious report was received. In Italy, a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome was escorted by Italian Air Force jets and landed safely, according to the ANSA news agency, and a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was also affected.
On Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received bomb threats, including the Israeli-run cruise ship Crown Iris in the Greek port of Syros. Those threats were all found to be hoaxes, and no explosives were discovered.
Israeli aviation has faced repeated security incidents in recent weeks. Last month, a flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna made an emergency landing in Bulgaria following a bomb threat, and security alerts have been heightened since an attempted attack on a FlyDubai flight in late September.
