Bomb threats disrupt about 10 flights across Europe
About 10 passenger flights were disrupted across Europe on Tuesday by bomb threats, many of them Ryanair services. No explosives were found and all aircraft landed safely.
About 10 passenger flights were disrupted across Europe on Tuesday because of bomb threats. Warsaw's airport in Poland was briefly closed, and Italian air force aircraft took off in Rome, authorities said. Despite an intensive search, no explosives were found, and all planes landed safely at airports in various European cities, a few hours apart.
Ryanair hit hardest
The Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair was affected most, with threats involving four of its flights to different destinations. London's Metropolitan Police confirmed it had become aware of threats to four aircraft due to take off from or land at Heathrow Airport. Another warning concerned a flight at Manchester Airport.
Warnings were also issued for Ryanair flights from Lisbon to Rome, from Dublin to Rome and from Dublin to Sofia. Spanish airport operator Aena confirmed an emergency protocol was activated because of a "bomb alert" for a Ryanair plane that flew from Manchester and landed at Murcia airport.
Warsaw and Rome
Two warnings concerned aircraft heading to Warsaw. A plane of Poland's LOT airline arriving from Heathrow, due to land at Warsaw Chopin Airport, was diverted to Modlin Airport. An SAS Scandinavian Airlines plane from Copenhagen landed at Chopin Airport without problems.
Italian air force fighter jets took off to escort a Ryanair plane from Dublin as it landed at Rome's Fiumicino airport. A Wizz Air plane from Bergamo was inspected after landing in Sofia.
