German press agency
PARIS – Several passenger flights were disrupted across Europe on Thursday after bomb threats were reported for the second time this week.
A scheduled flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to France, where it landed at the Évreux military airport, the French prime minister’s office said. The 151 passengers and six crew members have been brought to safety, and explosives experts have been deployed, the office added.
As the pilot did not initially cooperate with the authorities, the premier ordered fighter jets to intercept the aircraft and escort it to Évreux, where it landed safely, the government said. It was unclear why the pilot had initially refused to make the unscheduled landing.
Incidents in Italy
A Finnair flight from Helsinki landed at Rome Fiumicino airport at around 9:30 a.m. , escorted by Italian Air Force fighter jets, after anonymous tips about a suspected bomb alert on board. The Italian news agency ANSA said explosives experts were conducting security checks.
Meanwhile, a plane that took off from Milan Malpensa airport in the morning landed in Vienna, having diverted after a bomb threat was received during the flight, ANSA reported.
An Austrian police spokesman confirmed the landing to the German press agency. He said an email with a bomb threat had been received in Poland.
The spokesman described the threat as “abstract,” saying no danger had been detected in Vienna. He said the plane was now on its way to Warsaw.
Denmark and the Czech Republic also affected
Copenhagen Airport also received threats against two flights. No suspicious items were found when the aircraft were searched, police told the Danish news agency Ritzau.
“In our assessment, there is or was no danger to passengers or other people who are at the airport,” the police said. Ritzau said the spokesman declined to say which flights were involved.
Police in the Czech Republic said they had received warnings about homemade bombs on board four aircraft. The planes would be searched by specialists after landing at Prague’s Václav Havel Airport, police said, adding that they considered the threats to be of low relevance.
Ryanair flights to Bulgaria receive threats
Three Ryanair aircraft en route to Bulgaria also received bomb threats, the Bulgarian news agency BTA reported, citing the Transport Ministry in Sofia.
One aircraft from London was diverted to Plovdiv Airport, while the other two – from Copenhagen and Madrid – landed in Sofia as scheduled.
In neighboring Romania, a Wizz Air plane received a bomb threat while flying from Milan to Bucharest, but landed safely and on schedule , according to the Romanian news agency Mediafax. The SRI domestic intelligence service is now investigating the aircraft, Mediafax reported.
The incidents follow several bomb threats against commercial flights in Europe on Tuesday.
Source: www.spokesman.com
