Europe Gripped by Coordinated Bomb Threats Targeting Flights and Media Outlets

A new wave of bomb threats swept across Europe on Friday, disrupting air traffic and targeting several media organizations, following similar incidents the previous day. Four flights bound for or departing from Schwechat, near Vienna, Austria, were among those affected on Thursday, causing widespread disruption.

British broadcaster Sky confirmed it was among multiple newsrooms that received a bomb threat. A spokesperson stated, "We have carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities." Bulgaria's Nova TV and Ireland's public broadcaster RTE also received emailed threats from an individual claiming to be "Mikhail Andropov," with the subject line "Message to the West," suggesting these threats were a precursor to further European disruptions.

RTE in Dublin briefly evacuated staff, including radio and television presenters, after receiving an email on Friday morning. RTE Radio One presenter David McCullagh informed listeners that the threat indicated a bomb was set to detonate within 45 minutes. The Irish government reported that hoax bomb claims were also sent to Virgin Media, Newstalk radio, and The Irish Independent newspaper, though the perpetrators remain unknown. "However, these threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a coordinated campaign of disruption," the government stated.

These incidents follow a pattern of disruptions, with over two dozen flights affected by hoax bomb threats on Thursday, and other aircraft and a cruise ship receiving alerts in preceding days.

On Friday, Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi reported that jets escorted airliners flying from Brussels to Sofia and from Prague to Bucharest and Cyprus through Hungarian airspace due to bomb threats. He also noted that NATO had ordered an air patrol near the Hungarian-Romanian border, marking the Western defense alliance's involvement. Danish police indicated threats were directed at traffic at Copenhagen airport but assessed there was no danger to passengers, with the airport continuing to operate normally. Czech police registered bomb threats concerning nine flights arriving at or departing from Prague, though an airport spokesperson confirmed no flights were cancelled as a result. France reported four new bomb threats to aircraft flying over its territory, all of which landed safely. A Ryanair flight from Rome reportedly landed as scheduled in Lisbon, according to CNN Portugal.

The disruptions this week have seen approximately half a dozen flights affected on Tuesday and more than two dozen on Thursday, with some flights making unscheduled landings or being escorted by fighter jets. Al Jazeera's Frances Read, reporting from London, observed that while the threats have not proven credible thus far, the scope of the disruptions appears to be expanding. "The number of hoax threats this week is making governments sit up and take notice about where this might be coming from and also think of solutions for how to deal with it," she commented.