Britain has called the latest warnings a malicious hoax. An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military base in France.

Published 6 Nov 2026, 08:44 GMT

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Hoax bomb threats have disrupted at least 34 flights across Europe this week, and Britain's transport secretary has called Thursday's warnings a malicious hoax. Searches found no explosives.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the warnings as "malicious hoax threats". She said the government was taking "these threats seriously", and that there were "established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats".

A spokesperson said threats reported "in the early hours" had been "resolved". Heathrow said a threat received earlier on Thursday was "deemed not credible", and that there was "no risk to passengers, colleagues or the aircraft".

The Metropolitan Police told the Guardian that four aircraft at Heathrow had been threatened, and that no security issues were identified. Birmingham Airport said it had begun checks with the emergency services.

Where the planes landed

An Aer Lingus aircraft bound for Rome from Dublin landed safely after being rerouted to Normandy's Évreux-Fauville military air base. The airline said it was arranging onward travel to Rome.

Italian Air Force jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki into Rome's Fiumicino airport. A second Finnair flight, Helsinki to Vienna, landed as planned; the airline said: "Threats are almost always unfounded."

Police met EasyJet services arriving in Prague from Newcastle and Glasgow, but passengers left the aircraft as normal. Czech police said no explosives were on four aircraft that landed at Václav Havel airport, and described the reports as of "low relevance".

A Wizz Air flight from Milan bound for Warsaw diverted to Vienna. Another from Milan landed in Bucharest and was inspected.

Wizz Air said: "Wizz Air is not the only airline targeted, with other carriers also experiencing threats resulting in flight diversions and security checks."

LOT said its flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed as planned and that "no suspicious items were found". A Warsaw to Paris departure was stopped and screened before take-off.

Bulgarian media told the BBC that fighter jets escorted Ryanair flights from Copenhagen and Madrid into Sofia, and a London flight bound for Sofia into Plovdiv.

Aegean said threats to flights from Thessaloniki to Milan and Athens to Vienna were "unfounded". Spain's airport authority said inspections ruled out threats to three flights at Madrid.

Iberia said two of those were its flights from Milan and from Rome to Madrid. Air Serbia said a threat to its Belgrade to Bucharest service was "assessed as unfounded".

The name on the emails

Aeroporti di Roma told the BBC that the warnings against two inbound flights came by email, signed "Fighters of the Male State". The Guardian reported that emails to airports in Rome and Sofia, seen by Agence France-Presse, carried the same signature.

They included the line: "The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red."

The Guardian described Male State as a Russian far-right movement founded in 2016 by Vladislav Pozdnyakov, and said he had not claimed the messages.

The BBC reported that the name is likely a reference to a Russian ultra-right group a Moscow court banned in 2021.

The name on an email does not show who sent it. Investigators told the Guardian they had no evidence that a terror group, or a state such as Russia or Iran, was directing the hoaxes.

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

On Monday a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest after a threat received during the flight, escorted by a Hungarian fighter jet.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Hoax bomb threats disrupt dozens of flights across Europe

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