At least 35 flights have been hit by bomb threats as European air travel faces its third wave of disruptions in a week, bringing the total number of affected services to over 60.
Bomb Threats and Effects
The UK Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, is deeming recent bomb threat attacks to be “malicious hoaxes,” after seven services on Nov. 3 were threatened and 24 flights across Europe were impacted on Nov. 5.
Nov. 6 marks the third time this week that air travel has been threatened, and as of midday, 17 flights were impacted, as well as an attack on major media news outlets in Ireland.
So far, 11 commercial airlines have been affected by alerts: Aegean, Ryanair, Jet2, Aer Lingus, Finnair, Air Europa, Air Serbia, easyJet, Iberia, Wizz Air and LOT.
On Nov. 5, many of the affected flights landed at their scheduled destinations, including Aegean’s Thessaloniki-Milan service, Ryanair’s Porto-Milan, Copenhagen-Sofia, Madrid-Sofia, Finnair’s Helsinki-Rome and LOT’s Warsaw-Brussels flight.
Others were diverted or cancelled: Aer Lingus’ Dublin-Rome service, which diverted to France’s Evreux airbase; Wizz Air’s Milan-Warsaw flight, which diverted to Vienna; LOT’s Warsaw-Paris service, which terminated before take-off; and Ryanair’s London-Sofia flight, which diverted to Plovdiv.
Threats Across Europe and IATA Response
Authorities across Europe confirmed receiving bomb threats on Thursday. Czech police reported threats on four flights bound for Prague, Spain’s airport authorities confirmed three threats to Madrid-bound flights, and both London Heathrow (LHR) and Birmingham (BHX) airports received one threat each.
All affected flights landed safely.
Authorities in Rome said they received an email on behalf of the “Fighters of the Male State”, targeting what the sender called a “feminist regime”. The email, also sent to Sofia International Airport (SOF), read:
“We, the fighters of the Male State, will make history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red.”
Some analysts have speculated that the email could be linked to the banned Russian ultra-right group Muzhskoi Legion (Male Legion), though a supposed anonymous member of the group has since issued a statement denying any involvement with the threats, mockingly commenting:
“What Male State? Where have you seen it? It hasn’t existed for many years, if tomorrow they sign a [threat] letter, say, from Putin, will you then try to reach our president to ask your stupid question?”
In response to the original email, Nick Careen, senior vice-president of operations safety and security for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said in a comment:
“We condemn these attempts to disrupt air transport. Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously. We urge the authorities to find the origins of these hoax threats. Meanwhile passengers should be assured that aviation security measures will continue to ensure the highest levels of public safety.”
Threat Disruptions and Media Evacuations
Friday saw additional disruptions, including multiple threats to flights to and from Prague. Czech authorities reported nine separate threats, and Hungary deployed three fighter jets to escort commercial flights through Hungarian airspace. French authorities also confirmed further alerts involving aircraft over French territory, while Danish police investigated threats affecting Copenhagen Airport (CPH) air traffic.
Several Irish media outlet headquarters were evacuated, including: RTÉ, Newstalk, Today FM, the Irish Independent, and Virgin Media, following an email, titled “Message to the West”, signed by Mikhail Andropov, who claimed responsibility for this week’s bomb threats. The email reads:
“Hello. I am Mikhail Andropov, one of the leaders of the group responsible for the bomb threats against airplanes in Europe over the past week. […]
“But this is only the beginning. What happened this week is just a small part of what awaits Europe in the near future.”
Government Response and Aviation Controls
Jim O’Callaghan, Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, said in a statement:
“I have been briefed on the circumstances surrounding the threats made to a number of media organisations this morning. These threats are being taken extremely seriously and are now the subject of an active investigation by An Garda Síochána… Europe has increasingly become the target of different forms of hybrid attacks, which are evolving in complexity and sophistication.”
He emphasised the need for coordinated EU-level action.
Authorities have confirmed that no explosives have been found during any of the checks carried out so far.
Studies from the ASU Center for Problem-Oriented Policing show that around 90% of bomb threats turn out to be hoaxes. With 36,581 flights scheduled in Europe daily, according to Eurocontrol, the approximately 35-60 false bomb threats, while concerning, represent only a small fraction of total operations.
Airlines and airports remain well equipped to handle incidents; NATO, which monitors around 35,000 flights per day, maintains a 24-hour ‘air policing’ system using Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptor jets to escort aircraft when required.
In August, the UK Defence Journal shared on Facebook that the QRA Interceptor jets were only deployed six times during the 2025 to 2026 tax year.
Have your travel plans been affected by the recent bomb threat attacks? Let us know in the comments!
