Dozens of flights across Europe have been targeted by bomb threats this week, causing diversions and emergency landings Bomb threats targeted dozens of flights across Europe this week following a string of hoaxes that caused flight diversions and forced airlines to scramble to keep passengers safe and air traffic disruptions minimal. Fake bomb threats are relatively common, but it is unusual to see so many in such a short period. No suspicious items were found and no one has been injured, but the threats raised concerns because they came on the heels of other European disruptions — including attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions.
With unanswered questions hanging over the continent — it was not known whether the threats were linked, who sent them or what they hoped to achieve — security experts were to meet in Brussels next week to discuss measures to deal with the hoaxes. The hoaxes have led to plane searches and diversions, and, in some cases, emergency landings and military escorts. Still, the European air traffic authority insisted that overall, the threats caused minimal disruption to aviation.
Separately, three broadcasters — the Irish national broadcaster RTE, the U.K.-based Sky and NOVA TV, a private broadcaster in Bulgaria — also received security threats on Friday, a possible sign the menace was spreading beyond the skies. And on Saturday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said his personal data had been disseminated on the dark web, an encrypted part of the internet, and that he has been exposed to “threats and intimidation.” Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed pro-Russian hackers for the leak. Tajani, who is also a vice premier in Italy’s government, did not specify what kind of information had been shared, but suggested that the cyberthreat was ongoing.
He did not indicate who might be responsible for the cyberattack but reiterated the Italian government’s support for Ukraine. It remains unclear who is behind the airline threats, which come at a time of increased geopolitical tensions and warnings from authorities that Russia may be ramping up its so-called hybrid threats in Europe — a mix of covert and indirect attacks attributed to Moscow and meant to destabilize European countries. Authorities haven’t attributed the threats to any group or state actor, and no evidence has emerged linking the hoaxes to a government.
An email containing the threat sent Thursday to airport authorities in Rome and reviewed by The purported to come from a group describing itself as anti-feminist and claiming it was targeting a “feminist regime.” Another European airport received a threat with similar wording, but it was unclear if it came from the same sender. In Amsterdam, meanwhile, the Dutch Marechaussee military police detained a man on Thursday night at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in connection with a threat to a flight that was about to leave for Prague, Marechaussee spokesperson Doron Wallin said Saturday. It was not clear if the threat was linked to other recent hoaxes.
Wallin said the Marechaussee regularly deals with fake bomb threats. The aircraft flew on to Prague later in the evening and the man was released the following day. Matthew Borie of Osprey Flight Solutions, which advises airlines on flight threats, said he had several hypotheses for the incidents — ranging from a single threat triggering copycat incidents to an individual or a group making multiple threats, and “hybrid warfare” operations by state actors or their supporters.
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