Hoax Bomb Threats Disrupt At Least 25 European Flights
At least 25 flights across Europe were disrupted on November 5, 2026 by hoax bomb threats, and some were forced to make emergency landings. According to The Guardian, all of the affected flights landed safely and searches found nothing suspicious.
The threats touched flights between Italy, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Finland, Austria, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal, France, Greece, Serbia and Czechia. Airlines whose flights were affected included Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Wizz Air, Finnair, easyJet, Aegean Airlines, Iberia, Sky Express, Air Serbia and LOT. Eurocontrol, the agency that coordinates air traffic across Europe, reported that 27,400 flights were scheduled in the region that day.
The threats took several forms. Heathrow and Birmingham airports received overnight threats that were determined to be hoaxes with help from the Metropolitan Police's aviation policing command. Cork Airport received an anonymous phone threat on the morning of November 5, which delayed a Ryanair flight from London Stansted. Bomb threats emailed to airports in Rome and Sofia were signed by fighters of the Male State.
On a Ryanair flight from Pescara, Italy to Brussels-Charleroi, the word bomb was found scrawled in an onboard toilet, and the aircraft was inspected. A passenger plane flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French air force base after a bomb threat, NBC News reported. Reuters reported that some affected flights were escorted by fighter jets.
The November 5 wave was the second such incident that week. Seven planes across Europe were searched or diverted after malicious alerts on November 3, and at least 33 flights were affected by hoax bomb threats during the week ending November 5, according to the Guardian's count. CBC reported that the threats hit European airlines on the Thursday morning.
Investigators said on November 5 that there was no evidence the hoaxes had been orchestrated by a hostile terrorist group or by a state actor such as Russia or Iran.
