Further bomb threats disrupt at least another 18 flights across Europe

Media organisations in Ireland and UK also affected as apparently coordinated effort to cause chaos continues

A fresh wave of bomb threats disrupted air traffic across Europe on Friday but the affected aircraft landed safely and searches revealed no explosive devices.

The latest alerts affected at least 18 flights to or from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the UK.

Danish police investigated a threat against Copenhagen airport but the airport’s management said it was operating normally.

The warnings followed separate threats on Tuesday and Thursday that forced at least 35 flights to be diverted or searched, raising questions over an apparently coordinated effort to cause chaos for travellers.

A number of European media outlets – including news organisations in Bulgaria, Ireland and the UK – have reported that a group claiming responsibility for this week’s threats sent an email to several outlets warning of further attacks on transport across Europe.

“This is only the beginning,” it reportedly said.

The latest threats affected at least nine flights to and from Prague, four flights over France, two flights en route to Sofia and a flight from Lisbon to Rome. Hungary scrambled fighter jets three times to escort civilian flights in its airspace, the defence minister, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, said on Facebook.

The affected flights had knock-on effects but were a tiny percentage – just 0.0674% – of the 26,709 flights that according to the air traffic control agency Eurocontrol were scheduled in Europe on Friday.

A separate spate of threats on Friday against media organisations in Ireland disrupted broadcasts and prompted staff evacuations and police searches of offices and newsrooms.

The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told RTÉ Radio 1 after it resumed scheduled broadcasting that such threats had to be taken seriously and were an effort to sow fear and anxiety.

“It shows how relatively simple it can be to cause disruption and undermine the normal operation of society,” said Martin, adding that European security agencies would seek to identify those responsible and hold them accountable.

The British broadcaster ⁠Sky said on Friday it had also received a ⁠security threat and reported the matter to the relevant authorities.

Earlier this week, cyber-attacks targeted supermarket refrigeration systems in at least seven European countries.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said it was unclear whether the hoaxes and recent cyber-attacks were “all connected”.

She added: “But they definitely all tell us the same thing: today, what is under attack are civilian infrastructures.”

The Nato alliance continued to monitor the situation and was working “closely with allies”, according to a senior Nato military official.

Investigators have said there was no evidence that hoaxes against airlines and other targets were being orchestrated by a hostile terror group or state actor, such as Russia or Iran, but that inquiries continue.