At least 25 passenger flights across Europe were hit by hoax bomb threats on Thursday morning, 5 November 2026, in a wave of disruption that forced diversions, emergency landings and fighter-jet escorts from Ireland to Bulgaria. No explosives were found on any aircraft, and every affected flight landed safely.
The threats arrived by email and phone through the morning, targeting Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Finnair, Wizz Air, LOT Polish Airlines, EasyJet, Iberia and Air Europa. It was the second such wave this week: on Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received similar threats, and again nothing was found. The wave of threats was reported on Thursday morning as airlines and airports across the continent scrambled to check aircraft and reassure passengers.
Aer Lingus Flight Diverted to French Military Base
The most dramatic diversion involved Aer Lingus flight EI402, travelling from Dublin to Rome. After the threat was reported, the Airbus A320 was diverted to Evreux airbase in Normandy, about 100 kilometres west of Paris, where it landed safely. All 151 passengers and six crew members disembarked safely while military bomb units inspected the aircraft.
The diversion to a military base, rather than a civilian airport, underlined how seriously French authorities treated the warning. The aircraft was searched and cleared, and no device was found on board.
Fighter Jets Escort Ryanair Flights in Bulgaria
Bulgaria saw the heaviest military response. The country’s air force said its fighter jets escorted three Ryanair airliners to the ground. Two of the flights, from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed in Sofia as planned, while a third, from London Stansted, was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second city. Airport operations at both Sofia and Plovdiv returned to normal after inspections found nothing wrong, Bulgaria’s transport ministry said.
Italy also scrambled jets. The Italian air force escorted a Finnair plane flying from Helsinki to its scheduled landing in Rome, while another Finnair flight from Helsinki, operated by Jettime, landed as normal in Vienna after receiving a threat. Two more planes landed safely in Milan after receiving threats, according to Italian media reports.
Threats Across Spain, Prague, Poland and Denmark
Spanish authorities received three emailed bomb threats in under 20 minutes from around 9 a.m. local time, involving two Air Europa departures from Madrid to Paris and four inbound Iberia flights from Rome and Milan. Several aircraft were halted or returned to their stands and passengers were disembarked while the planes were inspected.
In Prague, four incoming aircraft — two EasyJet flights from Britain, one flight from Ireland and one from Greece — landed as scheduled after receiving threats. Czech police said they had assessed the credibility of the threats as low.
A LOT flight from Warsaw landed as scheduled in Brussels after a security warning, the Polish airline said. In Warsaw, a LOT flight bound for Paris was stopped as it taxied towards take-off, and passengers were transferred to another aircraft as a precaution. A Wizz Air flight from Milan landed safely in Bucharest, while Italian media reported that another Wizz Air flight, from Milan to Warsaw, had been diverted to Vienna. In Denmark, a military bomb disposal unit searched two planes at Copenhagen airport but did not find any devices, police said.
Second Wave This Week — and No Explosives Found
So far, not a single device has been found in connection with any of the threats this week. Tuesday’s wave, which hit at least seven flights and a cruise ship, also ended with nothing discovered, and a second wave of aviation alerts this week has now shown the same pattern: widespread alarm, thorough searches, and no explosives.
No country has formally blamed anyone for the threats. European officials have previously accused Russia of orchestrating sabotage and so-called hybrid attacks across the continent, a charge both Russia and Iran deny. Aviation security experts say the repeated threats may be designed both to disrupt operations and to observe how airlines, airports and national authorities respond.
The threats come in the same week as cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in several European countries, which also affected blood banks in France. Aviation cybersecurity experts say the pattern of disruption across essential services carries economic costs and can undermine public confidence.
The disruption comes during a busy period for global aviation. The Emirates Group reported its half-year results for 2026-27, while PIA’s first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed in Islamabad in a historic first for Pakistani aviation. Investigations into the source of the threats are continuing, and European aviation authorities say they are treating every warning seriously until it is cleared.
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