Polish authorities reported carrying out security inspections on two passenger planes targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday as a wave of similar alerts disrupted multiple airports across Europe.
Incidents in Poland and Spain
A bomb alert forced a LOT Polish Airlines flight traveling from London’s Heathrow Airport to execute an unscheduled landing at Warsaw-Modlin airport, which temporarily forced the facility to shut down before operations resumed around midday. Airport spokesman Adam Szablowski told the French AFP news agency that passengers were evacuated and security checks found nothing, allowing the airport to reopen and operate normally. Another bomb threat targeted a SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight arriving from Copenhagen, which landed safely at Warsaw’s central Chopin airport for inspections that also revealed no explosives. Authorities stated it remained unclear if the threats were connected.
Tuesday also saw a Ryanair flight traveling from Manchester, United Kingdom, to Murcia, Spain, face a bomb threat. The aircraft landed safely and underwent security checks after all passengers disembarked. Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in the Murcia region, confirmed via X that police dismissed the presence of explosives and announced the International Airport of the Region of Murcia resumed normal operations while thanking the emergency teams involved.
Further Alerts in Bulgaria and Italy
In a fourth incident, a flight arriving from Israel landed in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Tuesday following a bomb threat received through an email, as reported by Reuters. Bulgarian Interior Minister Secretary General Lyubomir Nikolov told the BTA news agency that counter-terrorism units inspected the aircraft for potential explosive devices. Italian media outlets subsequently reported two additional bomb threats directed at Ryanair flights heading to Rome’s Fiumicino airport from Lisbon and Dublin, prompting the deployment of Air Force jets before both alerts proved to be false alarms.
These six incidents on Tuesday followed a Monday event where a WizzAir flight from London to Sofia diverted to Budapest, Hungary, mid-air due to a bomb threat. Various European airports have experienced similar alerts over recent weeks, all of which ultimately turned out to be false.
