Aviation routes connecting at least nine European nations experienced disruptions, with Hungary deploying fighter jets on three separate occasions to escort passenger planes. The airborne scares aligned with forced evacuations at British broadcaster Sky and Irish media outlets, as well as recent cyber-attacks hitting grocery refrigeration across seven countries. Although messages claimed ties to a Russian ultranationalist group called the Male State, investigators have yet to definitively tie the actions to a specific foreign power.
Key points
Authorities found no explosive devices on any of the disrupted flights, allowing all airc…: Authorities found no explosive devices on any of the disrupted flights, allowing all aircraft to land safely.
European officials suspect the coordinated disruptions represent hybrid aggression intend…: European officials suspect the coordinated disruptions represent hybrid aggression intended to generate public anxiety over support for Ukraine.
Investigators have not yet confirmed direct links between the hoaxes and a hostile foreig…: Investigators have not yet confirmed direct links between the hoaxes and a hostile foreign state or designated terror group.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
A fresh wave of bomb threats has disrupted air traffic across Europe but the affected planes landed safely and searches revealed no explosive devices.
The latest alerts affected at least 18 flights to or from Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Italy, Hungary, Cyprus, Romania, the UK and Portugal. Danish police investigated a threat against Copenhagen airport but the airport said it was operating normally.
The warnings followed separate threats on Tuesday and Thursday that forced at least 35 flights to be diverted or searched, raising questions over an apparently coordinated effort to cause chaos for travellers.
The latest threats affected at least nine flights to and from Prague, four flights over France, two flights en route to Sofia and a flight from Lisbon to Rome. Hungary scrambled fighter jets three times to escort civilian flights in its airspace, the defence minister, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, said on Facebook.
The affected flights had knock-on effects but were a tiny percentage – just 0.0674% – of the 26,709 flights that according to the air traffic control agency Eurocontrol were scheduled in Europe on Friday.
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