False bomb alerts on European airports, signed by extremist Russian group
Dozens of civil flights were targeted on Thursday by false bomb threats across Europe, fighter planes escorting several flights departing from Italy.
"Male State Fighters", Russian group suspected of bomb threats on European airports
At least 20 commercial flights were disrupted on Thursday by false bomb alerts in several European countries, ProTV News reports citing AFP. Fighter planes escorted civil flights departing from Italy to Bulgaria and Czechia, and authorities in several states opened investigations.
The alerts this week are part of a broader pattern: on Monday, a Wizz Air flight on the London (Luton)–Sofia route was diverted and made an emergency landing in Budapest, and on Tuesday approximately ten European commercial flights were targeted. All aircraft were inspected upon landing without any explosive device being discovered.
Aer Lingus flight and refusal to land at military base
French Air Force intercepted in Normandy an Airbus A320 of Aer Lingus, on the Dublin–Rome route, with 151 passengers on board. The pilot refused to land at the military base at Évreux, opting for a civil airport, which prompted French justice to open an investigation. The aircraft "landed in full security", the airline announced later.
Finnair, Wizz Air and LOT, among the targeted airlines
Two flights of Finnish airline Finnair — from Helsinki to Rome and respectively to Vienna — also received false alerts. The Helsinki–Rome flight was escorted by Italian fighter planes to Fiumicino Airport, confirmed a spokesman for Aeroporti Roma. "Nothing abnormal was found", Finnair said.
A Wizz Air flight on the Milan Malpensa–Warsaw route diverted to Vienna, and a Warsaw–Brussels LOT flight was also targeted by an alert, according to the two airlines.
Message signed by "Male State Fighters"
The alert targeting the Helsinki–Rome and Dublin–Rome flights was transmitted via an email sent to Rome airport and other companies on the airport platform, confirmed an airport spokesman. Italian press reports that the message — written in Italian — was signed by "Male State Fighters", the name of a far-right Russian extremist group.
The text of the threat was explicit: "You are all complicit in a criminal plot. We want to annihilate you for that (...). Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will happen in 60 minutes. Today, your sky will be red."
In Russia there is a far-right movement called "Male State", but AFP specifies that it could not confirm whether it was behind the message.
Prague: threats via email from anonymous addresses
At Prague airport, alerts arrived via email from anonymous addresses, declared to AFP by airport spokeswoman Denisa Hejtmankova. Four aircraft landing in Prague between 10:45 and 11:30 (Romania time) were subjected to checks: two Easyjet flights from Glasgow and Newcastle, a Ryanair from Dublin and a Sky Express from Athens. "The results of the explosive device checks proved negative", announced Czech police on platform X, adding that the investigation was taken over by the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.
Bulgaria: three Ryanairs intercepted by MiG-29s
Bulgarian Air Force deployed fighter planes MiG-29 on Thursday morning to intercept three Ryanair flights targeted by alerts, according to Sofia's Ministry of Defence. Two of them, coming from Madrid and Copenhagen, landed in Sofia — the initial destination — and the third, departing from London Stansted, was redirected to Plovdiv airport. No explosive was found, confirmed to AFP a spokeswoman for Bulgarian Ministry of Interior.
Spain and Denmark, also targeted
Three flights connected with Madrid also received threats, but airport operator AENA refused to specify the targeted airlines or whether Madrid was the city of departure or arrival. It was unclear whether the Madrid–Sofia Ryanair flight was among the three.
Danish authorities informed Air France on Thursday about an alert "initially considered credible, but quickly ruled out" regarding a Paris–Copenhagen flight.
Reactions: concern at European level
"Any threat against civilians is unacceptable", declared European Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas. He assessed that it is "too early to draw conclusions about whether these incidents are linked".
Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, commented on Thursday, following a press conference presenting economic results: "I do not believe we have seen anything like this before, but today the defence is truly ready." He added that the group is "quite confident" that it has taken all necessary measures so that the impact on operations is "minimal, possibly zero".
A 29-year-old Brazilian tourist, Natalia Lobo, present at Rome airport, summed up the sentiment of many: "It is very concerning, we are very worried about security in Europe, in general. But I think everything is under control."
The bomb alerts this week are part, according to some authorities and researchers, of a broader pattern of hybrid attacks directed against Europe, sometimes associated with Russia or Iran.
Source: Știrile ProTV