New Bomb Threats Hit Flights Across Europe, With at Least Eight Prague Services Affected

The update

A fresh wave of bomb threats disrupted flights across Europe on Friday morning. Prague airport said at least eight flights to and from the Czech capital were affected, involving services linked to Denmark, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania and Italy. France’s prime minister’s office said four threats targeted aircraft flying over French territory, and all landed safely for inspections. Portuguese police said a threat against a Ryanair flight from Rome to Lisbon was a hoax, and a Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice.

Why it matters

The new alerts extend a week of hoax threats that have repeatedly forced searches, diversions and emergency landings across the continent, including at least 25 flights on Thursday. No explosives have been confirmed in Friday’s incidents and no injuries were reported, but each threat triggers inspections and delays, and French officials said an investigation is under way to find the origin of alerts affecting all of Europe.

What to watch

Watch whether threats continue into the weekend, whether investigators identify a source or a link between the calls, and whether airlines or airports change procedures or schedules. Further diversions or closures would show the disruption is widening rather than fading.

Sources

• theguardian.com — confirms the Prague, French and Lisbon incidents and that the aircraft over France landed safely
• euronews.com — confirms the Ryanair Rome-Lisbon alert, the four French threats and the Wizz Air diversion to Venice

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