At least 21 aircraft and several airports across Europe were targeted by bomb threats on Thursday in the second such wave this week, which the UK government described as a malicious hoax.
After landing at the Évreux-Fauville air base in Normandy, passengers learned the flight had been the subject of a bomb threat. They were later told they would be taken to an airport in Paris and another plane would fly them on to Rome.
Two days earlier, seven European flights, including two from the UK, were searched after bomb threats were made.
London Heathrow and Birmingham airports received threats that were assessed as not credible. Heathrow said in a statement it had received a threat earlier in the day which was deemed not credible, adding there was no risk to passengers, colleagues or the aircraft. Spain’s airport authority said it had received bomb threats affecting three flights at Madrid airport, but any threat was ruled out following inspections. Passengers on both flights disembarked normally, the company said.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the incidents malicious hoax threats. She said the government was taking them seriously and that established processes existed for dealing with hoax and malicious threats. Czech police said no explosives were found on four flights that landed in Prague. Iberia later said two of its flights — Milan-Madrid and Rome-Madrid — were affected.
A UK government spokesperson later said threats reported in the early hours of the day had been resolved, without giving further details.