Source of European flight bomb threats remains unclear despite matching emails

The Guardian counted 25 flights affected on Thursday. They represented a small fraction of European air traffic: Eurocontrol said about 27,400 flights were scheduled across the continent that day.

A message sent to Sofia airport claimed explosives had been placed on three Ryanair flights and was signed by “fighters of the Male State”, according to AFP, which saw the email. The agency said the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published the same text with warnings about two Rome-bound flights; a source at Rome airport operator ADR confirmed the report to AFP.

There is a Russian far-right movement called Male State, which was designated an extremist organisation by a Russian court in 2021. But AFP said it could not confirm a link between the movement and the message. The name on an email does not establish who sent it.

The BBC reported that, as of Thursday evening, no hard evidence had emerged linking the airline hoaxes to Russia, Iran or groups controlled by either country. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was too early to conclude whether the reported incidents were connected.

Other reports involved different forms of warning. A Ryanair flight from Pescara in Italy to Brussels Charleroi was inspected after the word “bomb” was found written on a lavatory wall. The airport said checks found no threat, according to the Guardian.

Among the diversions, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome landed at a French military base at Évreux. A Ryanair flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv in Bulgaria, and a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was rerouted to Vienna. Bulgaria’s interior ministry told AFP that three Ryanair planes bound for Sofia were searched and no explosives were found.