False bomb threats target European flights and cruise ship

Multiple commercial flights and a cruise ship were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday in Europe, though authorities have stated the threats were false.

Aviation incidents

According to authorities in the affected countries, at least four Ryanair flights were involved: routes connecting Manchester to Murcia, Lisbon to Rome, Dublin to Rome, and Dublin to Sofia.

Other flights targeted included:

• Two flights to Warsaw: one operated by SAS from Copenhagen and another by LOT from London-Heathrow.
• A Wizz Air flight connecting Bergamo, Italy, to Sofia.

British police informed Agence France-Presse that they received reports of "threats" involving four aircraft at Heathrow airport on Tuesday morning, as well as an alert targeting an aircraft in Manchester. In all cases, aircraft were inspected upon landing, and no suspicious objects were found.

In Rome, a spokesperson for Rome Airports stated that two Ryanair flights were subject to bomb disposal operations upon arrival at Rome-Fiumicino following "un signalement anonyme concernant une alerte à la bombe présumée" (an anonymous report concerning a suspected bomb threat). One flight landed around 9:40 a.m., and a second flight from Dublin landed at 10:45 a.m. and was escorted by the Italian air force.

In Poland, Piotr Rudzki, a spokesperson for the airport, stated to AFP that a SAS flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw-Chopin underwent security checks following "informations sur la présence d’un objet dangereux à bord de l’appareil" (information regarding the presence of a dangerous object on board the aircraft). A runway was temporarily closed before the airport resumed normal operations around 12:20 p.m. local time. Additionally, a LOT flight from London-Heathrow was diverted to Warsaw-Modlin airport.

In Bulgaria, authorities reported that two flights to Sofia—a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo and a Ryanair flight from Dublin—were inspected. A spokesperson for the Bulgarian border police told AFP that these two alerts were sent via email to the Ministry of the Interior.

Maritime incident

On Tuesday evening, port authorities on the island of Syros in the Aegean Sea evacuated the cruise ship Crown Iris as a precaution. According to coastguards, an unidentified person contacted the ship claiming an explosive device had been placed on the hull. The vessel, flying a Panamanian flag, was carrying 940 passengers and 597 crew members and was scheduled to sail to Haifa, Israel. No explosives have been discovered, and an investigation is ongoing, according to the Athens News Agency, ANA.

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Sources

• lapresse.ca: Alertes à la bombe visant des vols et un paquebot | La Presse
• lefigaro.fr: Alerte à la bombe, avion dérouté : qui doit prendre en charge les passagers et les conduire à destination ?

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.