Bomb threats hit about 10 European flights as Warsaw airport briefly shuts

About 10 European flights were hit by bomb threats on Tuesday, authorities said, setting off searches on the ground even as every plane landed safely in a different city. No explosives turned up anywhere. Warsaw's Chopin airport shut one runway while an arriving jet was inspected, and the city's Modlin airport closed briefly too.

Ryanair took the brunt of it, with four of its flights targeted: Manchester to Murcia, Lisbon to Rome, Dublin to Rome and Dublin to Sofia. Spanish airport operator Aena said an emergency protocol kicked in when the Murcia flight touched down at 10:30am local time, and it landed without problems. Italian air force jets scrambled to escort flight FR9611 from Dublin into Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45am, and anti-bomb procedures met an earlier Ryanair arrival. Checks on passengers, luggage and the aircraft all came back negative, and the alert was lifted.

London's Metropolitan Police said it was made aware of threats against four aircraft due to depart from or arrive at Heathrow, one of Europe's busiest hubs, and reported a further warning involving a flight at Manchester Airport. After checks, the force said no security issues were identified.

In Poland, SAS said a threat had been made against flight SK751 from Copenhagen to Warsaw, which landed without any problem. The LOT flight from Heathrow was diverted to Modlin, where the Boeing 737 MAX also landed safely. Nothing was found, Modlin spokesman Adam Szablowski told AFP.

Matthew Borie of Osprey Flight Solutions, which advises airlines on flight threats, floated several explanations for the unexplained spree: one threat sparking copycats, a single individual or group making multiple calls, or hybrid warfare run by state actors or their supporters. He called such threats not a new phenomenon, arriving amid rising geopolitical tensions and signs of disruption. The European focus means there could be a Russian angle, he said, though he stressed Iranian hybrid warfare is just as active in parts of Europe. His advice to travellers: don't be alarmed, pointing to coordinated national response mechanisms that sometimes include NATO fighter jets escorting the planes.

The scare follows Monday's episode, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest after a bomb threat. Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Facebook that NATO's air defence alert service flagged the flight and Hungarian Gripen jets were airborne within minutes to ensure it landed safely. On Tuesday, a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo to Sofia was inspected after landing, Bulgaria's interior ministry said.