Bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe and UK airports

Summarised from 2 outlets · 5 reports · Updated 5 Nov, 17:21 · Archive

Birmingham Airport and Heathrow received bomb threats assessed as not credible, as at least eight flights across Europe were diverted or disrupted.

Birmingham Airport and Heathrow received bomb threats early Thursday that were assessed as not credible. The threats formed part of a wider wave of alerts directed at flights across Europe, affecting at least eight planes travelling from cities including Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw. Airports activated emergency security protocols but operations continued as normal.

Most affected flights were diverted to other airports for emergency landings, while some continued to their destinations and landed safely. A Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Sofia was diverted and landed safely in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Another flight from Dublin to Rome was rerouted to an airfield in northern France. EasyJet confirmed two of its flights—one from Newcastle and another from Glasgow—were met by police on arrival in Prague as a precaution.

According to the Associated Press, some threats were linked to an email sent on behalf of a group describing itself as anti-feminist, threatening planes bound for Rome. Similar language was used in another threat received by a European airport, though it remains unclear if all messages originated from the same source. UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the threats were malicious hoaxes and emphasised that the UK has 'some of the most robust aviation security systems anywhere in the world' with well-tested processes for dealing with such incidents.

How it is being reported

• Reason behind hoax bomb threats targeting flights including Birmingham revealedBomb threats linked to an anti-feminist group affected flights across Europe, including Birmingham and Heathrow. UK officials called the alerts malicious hoaxes.Worcester News · 5 Nov, 16:39
• Bomb threat at Birmingham Airport this morning - What we know so farBirmingham Airport and Heathrow receive bomb threats deemed hoaxes; flights diverted across Europe, while airport operations continue as normal despite alerts.Malvern Gazette · 5 Nov, 15:35
• Bomb threat at Birmingham Airport this morning - What we know so farBirmingham Airport and Heathrow receive bomb threats deemed hoaxes; flights diverted across Europe, while airport operations continue as normal despite alerts.Worcester News · 5 Nov, 15:35
• Birmingham Airport receives bomb threatsBirmingham Airport and Heathrow received bomb threats deemed hoaxes, as flights across Europe faced diversions and disruption.Worcester News · 5 Nov, 14:49
• Birmingham Airport receives bomb threatsBirmingham Airport and Heathrow received bomb threats deemed hoaxes, as flights across Europe faced diversions and disruption.Malvern Gazette · 5 Nov, 14:49

In this story: Birmingham Airport · Heathrow · Heidi Alexander · Ryanair · EasyJet · United Kingdom · Europe

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