Multiple European Flights Face Bomb Threats In A Single Day, Triggering Diversions And Airport Disruptions

On Tuesday, November 3rd, at least seven flights were targetted by bomb threats while they were flying across different destinations. The alerts were regarding LOT Polish Airlines, SAS, Ryanair, and other carriers, which alerted them to make immediate emergency security checks and delays in flight timings and landing at a different airport.

Fortunately, no one was harmed, and the flights landed safely at their respective locations, however, the news caused a lot of disruption to airline operations. The authorities stopped the airlines for further operations meanwhile all the security checks were being made, due to which the passengers had to face delays in their journey.

All these incidents took place right after Wizz Air was traveling from London Luton Airport (LTN) to Sofia (SOF), which was diverted to Budapest (BUS) following a separate bomb threat.

LOT Polish Airlines And SAS Flights Face Threats In Warsaw

The incident occurred in two of the airlines as well, which were heading to Warsaw, Poland. One was a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 flying from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) carrying 181 passengers, and they received a bomb threat. Instead of making a landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW), the aircraft was diverted to Warsaw Modlin Airport (WMI).

The sudden diversion made a temporary suspension of of operation at Modlin Airport as the airport authorities started making security checks. There was less disturbance caused on smaller airports in comparison to the bigger airports where the flights experienced delays. Passengers traveling in Ryanair to Tenerife faced a delay where the flight departed almost after an hour.

Another incident took place with SAS flight SK751, which was flying from Copenhagen (CPH) to Warsaw. After the safe landing of the flight, the Polish authorities started their security checks.

Four Ryanair Flights Caught Up in the Security Alerts

Ryanair’s three flights received bomb threats, making it a disruptive morning for the airlines. 

It started with flight FR4116, which was traveling from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Murcia (RMU), Spain. The Boeing 737 MAX 8-200 made its landing 24 minutes before its original landing times at 10:31 am local time. Right after the landing, the authorities started with security checks due to which the aircraft could not start with its operations.

This whole situation created a big problem for Ryanair, as other flights were also scheduled to operate through that aircraft. The schedule was set where the aircraft had to start with its other service, FR4117, to Manchester at 11:30 AM. Because the airport authorities were still investigating the first aircraft, a replacement aircraft had to be arranged, EI-IKY, which was repositioned from Alicante (ALC). 

Three other Ryanair flights were also affected by the security alerts. Two flights coming from Lisbon and Dublin were inspected at Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) after receiving the bomb threats. Another Ryanair flight traveling from Dublin to Sofia was also on the target. All these three aircraft underwent security checks, but there was no evidence of explosives found.

Sofia-Bound Flights Also Receive Bomb Threats

Additionally, Sofia Airport also received bomb alert news with EI AI flight LY551 from Tel Aviv, which made its landing at 9:49 am and departed at 11:31 am after the security checks. 

However, according to the reports, the EI AI flight was not being targeted. It was the other two Sofia-bound flights, the Wizz Air flight had arrived from Bergamo, Italy, and the Ryanair flight from Dublin, Ireland. Security checks were made on both the airlines.

Due to the whole bomb threat news, there were delays, airport and aircraft security checks, and most of the flights were temporarily grounded, however, no explosives were found. 

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