At least seven passenger planes travelling across Europe were affected by suspected bomb threats on Tuesday, including two Ryanair flights that originated in Dublin, according to reports.
All seven have been confirmed to be false alarms.
A plane that flew from Dublin to Sofia was searched upon arrival in the Bulgarian capital.
Bomb threats were made against two planes that landed in Sofia – one from Dublin and one from Bergamo in Italy – Bulgaria’s transport ministry said in a statement.
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Both landed safely and no explosive devices were found on inspection.
The Dublin flight, operated by Ryanair, had 185 passengers on board, the statement said. The Bergamo flight was operated by Wizz Air and carrying 176 passengers.
Another Ryanair flight, from Dublin to Rome, was searched upon arrival in the Italian capital, according to the BBC. A separate Ryanair flight, originating in Lisbon in Portugal, was also reportedly searched at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.
The Italian air force said in a statement it had scrambled two Eurofighter jets to accompany the flight from Dublin into Rome following the bomb threat.
“The fighter jets, which took off from the Grosseto airbase, were deployed to intercept and escort a civilian aircraft bound for Rome Fiumicino,” the Italian air force said in a statement.
“On the morning of Tuesday, November 3rd, two Eurofighter fighter jets from the Italian Air Force’s 4th Wing were scrambled from the Grosseto airbase following a report of a potential threat on board a civilian aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome Fiumicino.
“The two military aircraft intercepted and escorted the plane to its destination airport, where it landed safely,” the Italian air force said.
Ryanair has been contacted for comment.
Seven false bomb threats were reported as of Tuesday afternoon, including the Ryanair flights, causing diversions and searches.
Authorities diverted a LOT flight from London that was meant to land at Warsaw’s Chopin airport to another nearby airport, Modlin, which was briefly closed while the plane was searched. Modlin airport later said it had reopened after no device was found.
Another Warsaw-bound flight, an SAS flight from Copenhagen, landed at Chopin as scheduled. Chopin airport said no device was found and the airport remained operational.
Spanish officials confirmed a passenger plane travelling from Manchester in the UK had landed safely at Murcia Airport in south-east Spain after a bomb threat.
Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in the region of Murcia, said that the presence of a real bomb had been “ruled out” after inspections.
“Police have ruled out the presence of explosives on the plane arriving from Manchester following an inspection,” Lucas wrote on social media.
On Monday, Italy was subject to false bomb threats sent to 279 schools, which led to multiple schools being evacuated and searched. – Additional reporting: Reuters and PA
