A wave of bomb threats against passenger flights across Europe triggered emergency searches, briefly shut an airport outside Warsaw and led the Italian Air Force to escort a Ryanair jet into Rome. All of Tuesday’s alerts proved false, Al Jazeera reported, citing AFP and Reuters.

At least seven flights and an Israel-bound cruise ship were targeted. All planes landed safely; searches found no explosives. Airlines hit included Ryanair, Wizz Air, Scandinavian Airlines and LOT. Ryanair appeared hardest hit, with four flights targeted. No one claimed responsibility.

In Poland, an SAS flight from Copenhagen landed normally at Chopin while a runway closed for inspection. A LOT flight from London Heathrow diverted to Modlin, which closed after the alert; nothing was found. In Italy, two Eurofighters escorted Ryanair FR9611 from Dublin into Fiumicino; an earlier Ryanair from Lisbon also faced anti-bomb checks, all negative.

In Spain, Aena activated emergency protocol for a Ryanair flight from Manchester that landed in Murcia. In Bulgaria, a Wizz Air from Bergamo and a Ryanair from Dublin to Sofia were inspected with no finds. A day earlier a Wizz Air Luton–Sofia flight diverted to Budapest under Hungarian Gripen escort.

London’s Metropolitan Police said it was aware of threats involving four aircraft at Heathrow and one at Manchester; after checks “no security issues were identified.” Greece’s Coast Guard evacuated the Panama-flagged cruise ship Crown Iris, with about 1,500 people aboard, anchored off Syros bound for Haifa; again no device.

The incidents land amid European accusations of “hybrid attacks” blamed on Russia and Iran — which Moscow and Tehran deny. Aviation-risk analysts call seven confirmed bomb threats in one day exceptional and say general disruption of aviation, not a clear target state or airline, looks like the aim.

Source: Bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe, no explosive devices found (Al Jazeera)