Seven flights across Europe, including two departing from the UK, were caught up in a security scare on Tuesday after bomb threats were made against aircraft travelling between major European cities. Authorities later ruled all of the alerts to be hoaxes.
A LOT Polish Airlines service from London Heathrow to Warsaw was diverted to Warsaw Modlin Airport, while a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Murcia was met by emergency services upon arrival in Spain, according to The Mirror.
LOT flight from Heathrow to Warsaw
Flight LO286 from London Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin Airport was diverted to Warsaw Modlin Airport after an alert was raised about a potential bomb on board. The flight, which had 181 passengers, landed safely seven minutes later.
Warsaw Modlin Airport was temporarily closed as emergency crews were scrambled to the aircraft and were able to rule out the bomb threat at 12.21pm, the airport explained. A spokesperson for LOT Polish Airlines said no suspicious items were found when the plane underwent a security inspection. “Following border control checks, passengers were transferred to Warsaw Chopin Airport by coach,” they added.
Ryanair flight from Manchester to Murcia
A Ryanair flight arriving in Murcia from Manchester was met by emergency services on Tuesday (November 3) after a bomb threat prompted a large-scale security response at the airport. Passengers and crew were escorted from the aircraft while specialist teams conducted searches. Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government's representative in the Murcia region, said the operation involved 114 passengers and seven members of crew.
The Guardia Civil subsequently found no evidence of explosives on board, Mr Lucas said, allowing the airport to return to normal operations. A passenger told the BBC that the aircraft stopped "quite suddenly" after landing and was then "surrounded by fire engines and police and a bomb squad". She said: "We were only later told that it was an actual threat, a bomb threat to the plane itself."
SAS flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw
Security measures were activated at Warsaw Chopin Airport after officials received information suggesting a potentially dangerous item could be on board an incoming Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen. Flight SK751 departed the Danish capital shortly after 8am local time before arriving in Warsaw about an hour later. Airport authorities responded by implementing precautionary safety procedures and temporarily closing one of the airport's runways.
Piotr Rudzki, acting director of Warsaw Airport's communications office, said established security protocols were immediately put into operation. Alexandra Lindgren Kaokju, a spokeswoman for SAS, said the aircraft landed without incident and was not required to make an emergency landing. "The passengers disembarked, the plane landed normally; it was not an emergency landing," she said. She added that the airline was focused on assisting passengers and crew and that the matter had been referred to the Polish police.
Other flights affected
A Wizz Air flight from Bergamo, Italy, landed in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, after learning of a potential bomb threat via an email, the Bulgarian interior ministry confirmed. The plane, which was carrying 176 passengers, was found to have no explosives on board.
A Ryanair flight from Dublin, with 185 passengers on board, landed in Sofia with no explosives found after a bomb threat was also made against the plane. Neither of the flights bound for Sofia that received threats was diverted.
A Ryanair flight from Lisbon landed in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport after an email was sent saying there was a bomb on board. Police bomb disposal experts carried out security checks of passengers, crew and baggage and found no explosives. An email was also sent to Rome Fiumicino Airport claiming there was a bomb on board an incoming Ryanair flight from Dublin. Italian fighter jets escorted the plane to the airport and the same ground security procedures were carried out, with no explosives found, said an official.
