Bomb threats against European flights ‘likely a coordinated campaign of disruption’, Ireland says – as it happened

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today. At least 18 flights have been disrupted by another round of false bomb threats across Europe, bringing this week’s total to more than 50, amid growing concern about a potentially “coordinated campaign of disruption” (14:15, 16:53).

Prague has seen the largest number of alerts, nine (13:14), with issues reported also on flights to and from Brussels (13:26), Paris (12:03), Rome (11:35) and Sofia (12:58). The number of bomb threats represents only a tiny fraction of all flights across Europe, with almost 27,000 flights scheduled today (13:31).

Separately, bomb threats were also issued against Bulgarian, Irish, and UK news organisations, disrupting broadcasts and prompting staff evacuations in Ireland (11:22). Further threats were distributed to media organisations this afternoon, but could not be immediately verified as genuine (17:16).

Ireland has warned against a “likely … coordinated campaign of disruption,” as it condemned attacks causing “fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives” (14:15). If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa. A number of European media outlets – including news organisations in Bulgaria, Ireland, and the UK – have reported that a group claiming responsibility for this week’s threats sent an email to several outlets warning of further attacks on transport across Europe.

“This is only the beginning,” it reportedly said. We have chosen not to reproduce the email in full, given its unsubstantiated claims. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has warned that “what’s being attacked is civilian infrastructure,” as she highlighted the evolving nature of threats and how they change people’s thinking about defence and security which is “not just talking about weapons, but safeguarding citizens’ daily lives.” Her comments were reported by Corriere della Sera and Sky TG24.

Meloni said that it wasn’t clear if the attacks on French blood banks, refrigerators and planes were connected, but they all highlighted the newly emerging threats and were “a cause for concern.” “When hackers attempted to alter the temperature of the refrigerators that store blood for transfusions, that blood was secured by a system that costs money; when you pay to buy that system, do we consider it defence spending or healthcare spending?

When they tell us that the resources committed to defence and security are money taken away from healthcare or hospitals, that’s nonsense, because … we need both,” she said. I promised you an update on the situation in Belgium, and it looks like King Philippe has successfully pushed the government to resume talks on the next year’s budget.

Prime minister Bart De Wever offered to resign on Monday ‌following months of talks that ‌failed to yield an agreement on €10bn in spending cuts and tax increases ‌that he says are needed to stabilise Belgium’s finances. After their second meeting today, the king’s office said talks would resume immediately as coalition partners seek ⁠to bridge remaining differences and reach an agreement to avert the prospect of early elections, Reuters reported.

The Royal Palace said that in conversations with the king this week all five parties in the government coalition had shown a willingness to compromise. The king therefore tasked the prime minister with starting a new round of negotiations and with reporting back to the king on 16 November.

De Wever ‌did not speak to the press waiting outside the palace before and after his meeting with the king. I keep monitoring the situation on European airports for you. During an earlier disruption at Venice airport (11:33), a number of planes had to be diverted elsewhere: Brussels Airlines’s flight from Brussels and KLM from Amsterdam went to Trieste, whereas Air France’s service from Paris, Iberia’s service from Madrid, and Aegean’s from Athens went to Bologna.

Some of them have since completed their journeys flying back to Venice. The Irish government has warned against a “likely coordinated campaign of disruption” in a statement responding to the latest bomb threats against European flights after similar threats were issued against some Irish media organisations (11:22).

In a statement, it said: “The threats made this morning against media organisations here are very serious. Hoax threats such as these cause fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives and activities; they achieve no positive purpose whatsoever.

It is not known yet who is responsible for these threats, whether it is individuals or a centralised or coordinated effort. However, these threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a coordinated campaign of disruption.” It continued: “The Gardaí, working in cooperation with the Defence Forces, and our cyber and aviation authorities, are working to establish who is responsible.

The Gardaí and the Defence Forces are in ongoing liaison with their European security counterparts. Every effort will be made to identify those responsible and to hold them to account. The main ⁠priority, however, is to ensure that people are kept safe, despite the unavoidable and unwelcome disruption that this may cause.

The Gardaí have been alive to the risk of disruptive threats such as these in the context of planning for EU Presidency events and are exercising the relevant protocols in response.” The Dutch military police has confirmed that it has checked a KLM flight to Amsterdam faced with a bomb threat and confirmed that no explosives were on board.

The statement did not identify the exact flight, but we know that a flight from Prague to the Netherlands was among the nine that saw bomb threats in Czech Republic, and local Dutch media said the affected flight was coming from the Czech capital, which means it was the flight KL1350.

While the number of bomb threats issued against European planes can sure be unsettling, it’s worth remembering it’s still a tiny, tiny, fraction of all flights taking place in Europe today. Eurocontrol’s daily counter says there will be 26,709 flights in Europe today.

Hungary’s fighter jets have been scrambled three times this morning to escort civilian flights in Hungarian airspace after reported bomb threats, defence minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said on Facebook. He said the first alert came in response to a threat issued against a WizzAir flight from Brussels to Sofia (that’s the W64328 we reported on earlier at 12:58), and two more for flights from Prague to Cyprus and Bucharest (the latter one is the Tarom we reported on earlier at 12:16).

Looking at Prague’s departures board, the Cyprus flight will be Wizz Air’s W64600 to Larnaca. The Prague airport has confirmed to the Guardian that nine flights have been affected by bomb threats so far today, one up from the latest update (12:26). “The Police have taken the necessary security measures in response.

Operations at Prague Airport remain unaffected,” a spokesperson said. Some other planes appeared to be disrupted too, with AJet’s service from Istanbul eventually diverting to Vienna after making several circles around Prague – although there is no suggestion that it was affected by this morning’s threats.

At least 17 flights have been reportedly disrupted today, but we are getting less detail from airports and national authorities about false alerts today, making it more difficult to keep track of all planes affected. It’s also interesting to see civil aviation authorities’ planes or helicopters flying near some of the affected airports today, including Prague and Bucharest, keeping a watchful eye on what’s going on.

A Bulgarian transport ministry spokesperson told AFP alerts were also received for two flights to Sofia on Friday, and that both flights coming in from London Stansted Airport in Britain and from Brussels landed safely. Looking at the airport’s arrivals board, that’d be W64328 from Brussels and FR1730 from London Stansted.

Multiple flights across Europe have been diverted or forced to make emergency landings following a series of bomb threats this week, prompting security checks and widespread disruption. Are you on one of the affected flights or has your journey disrupted? What happened, and how did you feel?

What information were you given by the airline or authorities, and how was the situation handled? Meanwhile, Copenhagen police confirmed that it’s done with their checks at the Danish capital’s airport (10:48). Its statement said: “We have been present solely as a security measure.

It is therefore our assessment that there is no or has been any danger to passengers or others using the airport. We are investigating the new threats in line with the threats that arrived yesterday, and therefore have no further information.” FlightRadar24 tracking service shows that some of these searches are making other planes circle near Prague Airport, with at least four planes currently holding near the airport.

We are also getting a bit more detail from the Prague airport authorities on disruptions that once again affected its operations this morning. At least eight flights to and from Prague were hit by bomb threats, its spokesperson confirmed to AFP. It concerned incoming flights from Denmark, Spain, and the UK, and outgoing flights to the Netherlands, Cyprus, Romania, Italy, and the UK, Denisa Hejtmánková said.

A Romanian airline Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest is the latest believed to be affected by today’s bomb threats. The aircraft, operating flight number ROT226M, sent a squawk code of 7700 – general emergency – before landing safely in Bucharest. The threat was later confirmed to be unproven.

Romanian media, quoting airport and intelligence officials, reported that the incident was linked to the recent wave of bomb threats against civilian aviation in Europe. We are now getting a line from the French PM’s office that four new bomb threats against aircraft flying over the French territory were received today.

All of ‌the planes landed safely and bomb dispersal units ‌are conducting inspections, with a probe underway to determine ⁠the origin of the threats affecting all of Europe, ‌the office said. This is being reported by Reuters. I will bring you more on this when we have it.

The Lisbon report turned out to be a hoax, the Portuguese police confirmed to AFP. The Portuguese public broadcaster RTP reported more detail from the police statement, saying the threat concerned both the inbound FR8196 flight and the reverse leg from Lisbon to Rome, FR8197.

The authorities will now try to determine “the origin and circumstances of the threat,” RTP reported. A Ryanair flight from Rome to Lisbon, flight number FR8196, was also targeted by a bomb threat, according to Portuguese media. “The authorities are taking steps to assess and confirm the credibility of the threat,” CNN Portugal reported.

Italian news agency Ansa reported that the security alert was received by police via “a phone call from a law enforcement officer.” A WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome has been diverted to Venice following a bomb threat, Italy’s Ansa news agency reported. The flight number W46136 turned around near Ferrara and performed a U-turn to land safely in Venice.

in Dublin Bomb threats against Irish media organisations have disrupted broadcasts and prompted staff evacuations and police searches on Friday morning. RTÉ Radio One’s Today With David McCullagh went off air on Friday morning and was replaced with music as staff huddled outside buildings at the national broadcaster’s Donnybrook campus.

Staff at other outlets including Newstalk Radio, Today FM, Virgin Media and the Irish Independent were also evacuated. Radio One’s regular broadcast returned to air at 10.13am. “It has been quite an interesting morning on RTÉ,” said McCullagh. The email, received before 9am, said an explosion would detonate within 45 minutes, said McCullagh.

Police with sniffer dogs remained at the campus. The taoiseach, Micheál Martin, told the programme that such threats had to be taken seriously and that Ireland’s police and defence forces would seek to identify those responsible. “It shows how relatively simple it can be to cause disruption and undermine the normal operation of society.” The emailed threats came after separate threats to airlines on Thursday disrupted dozens of flights across Europe.

Prague police say they are also investigating threats against “a number of aircraft arriving at and departing from Prague airport.” “In cooperation with Prague Airport, we have taken the necessary security measures with minimal impact on the airport’s normal operations.

We continue to investigate the case,” they added. They provided no details on what, if any, flights were affected. Copenhagen police has just said that it is once again present at the city’s airport this morning following “threats directed at air traffic,” but insisted there was no danger to passengers.

It said: “We are again present today at Copenhagen Airport in connection with threats directed at air traffic. Our immediate assessment is that there is no or has been any danger to passengers or others using the airport. We are now investigating the incident and are visibly present at the airport.

We currently have no further information.” Yesterday, two unidentified planes were searched at Copenhagen airport as part of broader disruption across Europe. in Brussels In other news, EU leaders will discuss next week the vexed question of who speaks for Europe in talks on ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, following an angry rebuke from Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, about the “disorderly” process of meetings and phone calls.

Italy is not a member of the E3, the trio of the UK, France and Germany, whose representatives met officials from Ukraine, the US and international bodies in Brussels earlier this week. Nor was it involved in other initiatives, such as a phone call between Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Norway and Finland, Jonas Gahr Støre and Alexander Stubb.

Meloni also highlighted an “informal” meeting between US, Ukrainian representatives, E3 national security advisers and European officials last month in Miami, which she said was only confirmed after the event by US sources. Italy, however, Meloni noted, is invited to a meeting of the so-called Berlin format – a larger group of countries, which is due to meet on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Dublin next week.

Meloni insisted she was not seeking a place for Italy “in this or that format”, but complained about the proliferation of groups and lack of coordination. She is concerned that “in the absence of a mandate, commitments are negotiated which also our Nation will then be called upon to undertake.

She added: “The outcome is far more important to us than the format itself. And to be able to aspire to shape such outcome, Europe needs to speak with a single, authoritative voice.” In an emollient response to Meloni, European Council President António Costa promised to add the issue to the agenda of a one-day EU summit in Dublin next Friday, one day after the EPC.

“I also share your view that the European Union must be properly involved in discussions that shape Europe’s security and Ukraine’s future. The European Union’s participation must be organised in a manner that enables it to convey a clear and unified message, to defend its interests and to support Ukraine.” But there is another view.

Some European diplomats think the proliferation of formats and uncoordinated meetings is a sign that no real peace talks are taking place. Airlines and airports across Europe are on high alert after a wave of hoax bomb threats targeted commercial flights this week, leaving at least 35 planes searched or diverted.

Authorities will be hoping to see a quieter day today after yesterday’s disruptions. But one of the incidents yesterday remains under closer scrutiny. An Aer Lingus pilot who was flying from Dublin to Rome when the plane was diverted to the Évreux military base after a bomb threat is facing scrutiny from the French authorities after reportedly insisting on landing at a civilian airport.

Évreux’s public prosecutor, Rémi Coutin, told ICI Normandie that the pilot’s apparent initial refusal to land where instructed prompted the French military to scramble two fighter jets to intercept the aircraft. The pilot and his co-pilot will be questioned to “understand what happened,” Coutin said, stressing that he could bring charges for refusing to cooperate with authorities.

In a statement to the Guardian, Aer Lingus backed the pilot, however, saying he and the crew acted “impeccably and thoroughly professional throughout” the incident. “Safety and the care of our passengers is Aer Lingus’ top priority and this was upheld professionally by the captain and crew of the aircraft throughout in what were very challenging circumstances,” the airline said.

Elsewhere, we are expecting an update on the Belgian government as prime minister Bart De Wever meets King Philippe to discuss next steps after the collapse of budget negotiations. Pope Leo is also off to visit Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in his first overseas trip since his lung surgery last month.

I will bring you all the updates here. It’s Friday, 6 November 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.