At least seven passenger flights across Europe were reported targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, Nov. 3, prompting searches and a temporary airport closure in Poland. The Associated Press later reported seven affected flights: two Warsaw arrivals, one flight from Manchester to Murcia, two to Sofia from Bergamo and Dublin, and two Ryanair flights to Rome.
Warsaw-Modlin Airport said an alert was issued at 3:54 a.m. ET (9:54 a.m. CET) for a Boeing 737 MAX flying from London Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin. The aircraft landed at Modlin at 4:01 a.m. ET (10:01 a.m. CET) with 181 people aboard. The airport temporarily closed during the checks and later announced that normal operations had resumed.
A separate Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen landed at Warsaw Chopin as scheduled and underwent security checks. Reuters reported that the airport found no device and remained operational; the Associated Press reported that one runway was closed during the response.
ITV News reported that 114 passengers and seven crew members disembarked from a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Murcia for security checks. Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government’s delegate in Murcia, later said in posts on X that the Guardia Civil had ruled out explosives and the airport had resumed normal operations.
Bulgaria’s Transport Minister Georgi Peev said two flights to Sofia, from Bergamo and Dublin, received threats. Neither was diverted, and checks found no explosive devices.
The Associated Press reported alerts involving Ryanair flights from Lisbon and Dublin to Rome. Citing an airport official who spoke anonymously, the agency said searches found no explosives and an Italian Air Force escort accompanied the Dublin flight to Rome.
A day earlier, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia diverted to Budapest after a reported bomb threat, the Associated Press reported. Hungary’s defense minister said a Gripen fighter jet escorted the plane, while Wizz Air told Hungary’s MTI news agency that checks found no threat and the flight would continue to Sofia.
