New bomb threats hit European airlines and media outlets

European airlines were hit by a new wave of bomb threats on Friday, according to BBC News. Multiple flights to and from Lisbon, Rome, Prague and Sofia were targeted, and three planes were escorted by Hungarian fighter jets, authorities said.

A Ryanair flight scheduled to leave Lisbon for Rome was targeted, the airline said. At least 11 flights were targeted in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, according to AFP. France reported at least four of its flights were targeted, and all landed safely. No explosives have been found on any planes as of Friday.

Media organizations evacuated

Several media organizations were evacuated after threats were made against them, including Ireland's public broadcaster RTÉ. Staff at the Irish Independent newspaper and the Dublin offices of radio stations NewstalkFM and TodayFM were advised to leave their buildings. UK broadcaster Sky said it also received a security threat.

Gardaí said they were "aware of a threat made against media organisations here and in Europe".

Sky, which is owned by Comcast, said in a statement read by a presenter on its news channel that the broadcaster had "carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities". The statement added: "The safety and security of our colleagues is our primary concern, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure our people and operations remain secure."

Official response

The Irish government warned it is a "likely coordinated campaign of disruption". In a statement, it said: "Hoax threats such as these cause fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives and activities; they achieve no positive purpose whatsoever. It is not known yet who is responsible for these threats, whether it is individuals or a centralised or co-ordinated effort."

Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin described the situation as "worrying" and said his government's first priority was the safety of the Irish public. Martin told RTÉ it was not yet known if the threats had come from individuals or if it was a "coordinated attack" but said they were being taken seriously.

Earlier threats this week

The Guardian reported that at least 34 flights have been disrupted this week, beginning on Monday, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia in Bulgaria was diverted to Budapest. Thursday's threats affected airports in London, Birmingham, Brussels, Bucharest, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw, among others.

Sofia and Milan each recorded six incidents, followed by Rome with five and Prague with four. Ryanair was the hardest-hit airline, with eight reported cases.

The EU transport commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said on Thursday it was "too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked". He stressed: "Any threats against civilians are unacceptable."

The Russian extremist group "Male State", named in this week's hoax bomb threats to Italian airports, denied any link to the false warnings. Replying to the BBC Russian Service, an account on Telegram linked to the group said: "What Male State? Where have you seen it? It hasn't existed for many years."

Why it matters

The threats caused flight diversions, evacuations and fighter jet escorts across multiple European countries. Authorities have found no explosives and have not identified who is responsible. Ireland is scheduled to host two high-profile European Union meetings in Dublin next week.

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Sources

• bbc.co.uk: New wave of bomb threats hit European airlines - BBC News
• theguardian.com: Why have more than 30 European flights been hit by bomb threats this week? | Air transport | The Guardian

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