Hoax bomb threats disrupt European flights for second time in a week

Hoax bomb threats disrupted flights across Europe on Thursday, the second such wave in a single week, with airlines reporting diversions, emergency landings and security inspections in cities including London, Dublin, Helsinki, Rome and Vienna.

At least 27 flights were affected, according to Reuters, with some aircraft forced to land unexpectedly and others escorted by fighter jets. Aer Lingus, Finnair, Wizz Air and Poland's LOT all confirmed to CNBC that some of their flights were targeted.

Which flights were involved

Finnair said two of its services received what it described as unfounded or hoax threats: a Helsinki-to-Rome flight carrying 144 passengers and seven crew, and a Helsinki-to-Vienna flight with 177 passengers and six crew. Both landed safely and customers disembarked. Authorities in Rome and Vienna inspected the two aircraft and found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Unfortunately, air traffic is sometimes subject to threats, as we have seen this week, when other airlines in Europe have also faced hoax bomb threats," Finnair said, adding that "threats are almost always unfounded."

Wizz Air confirmed a flight from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Bucharest's Otopeni Airport and a separate flight to Warsaw were subject to bomb threats. The Bucharest-bound aircraft was approaching its destination and landed safely when the threat was reported, after which security checks cleared it; the Warsaw flight was diverted.

Aer Lingus diverted its Dublin-to-Rome service to Normandy in northern France on Thursday morning. LOT said two of its flights from Warsaw received security threats and were both cleared after inspections.

Officials respond

Air France CEO Ben Smith said none of his airline's flights were affected, but described the coordinated threats as unprecedented and said he hoped they would not prompt consumers to slow down or reduce their travel plans.

U.S. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the incidents appeared to be "false attacks," adding that Washington was tracking the situation together with European partners to keep American airspace and travellers safe.

EU Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas said on X that it is "too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked," and that the EU-level information-sharing mechanism related to aviation security had been activated.

The disruption followed Tuesday's incidents, when seven passenger planes across Europe — two of them departing from the UK — were targeted by suspected bomb threats that the UK government described as "malicious hoax threats."

Source: CNBC.