A coordinated series of suspected bomb threats against European flights on Tuesday caused widespread disruptions across the continent, while a separate warning led to the evacuation of a cruise ship heading toward Israel.
At least seven passenger flights were impacted, with carriers including Ryanair, LOT, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), and Wizz Air affected. Authorities in Italy, Poland, Spain, and Bulgaria searched aircraft and passengers but confirmed no explosives were present. These incidents followed a similar threat the previous day, when a Hungarian fighter jet escorted a diverted Wizz Air flight from London Luton after a bomb warning.
In Italy, police searched two Ryanair flights arriving in Rome from Lisbon and Dublin. They examined passengers, crew, and baggage, finding nothing suspicious. The Italian Air Force deployed two Eurofighters to escort the Dublin flight to Rome Fiumicino.
A LOT flight from London Heathrow to Warsaw was rerouted to Modlin Airport following a threat. The airport temporarily closed while authorities conducted checks, though LOT later confirmed no explosives were found. An SAS flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw also prompted a security response after a reported dangerous item, leading to the closure of one runway at Chopin Airport during inspections.
In Spain, a Ryanair flight carrying 121 passengers from Manchester to Murcia was inspected after a threat, with no explosives detected. Meanwhile, two flights arriving in Sofia, Bulgaria, from Bergamo and Dublin, underwent checks but were not diverted, and no suspicious items were found.
The UK Government described the threats as “malicious hoax threats,” stressing that the country’s aviation security systems are “well-tested” against such incidents. Authorities have not ruled out a connection between the threats.
Separately, a bomb alert led to the evacuation of all passengers and crew from the Crown Iris, a Panama-flagged cruise ship operated by an Israel-based company, while docked at Syros, Greece. The vessel, carrying 940 passengers and 597 crew, was scheduled to depart for Haifa when authorities searched it after a claim of an explosive device attached to its hull. No suspicious objects were discovered.