Brussels – A spate of bomb threats has caused chaos in European airspace, with over 20 flights affected, seven of which involved Italy: an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome that was diverted to Evreux, in France; a Wizz Air flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw-Okęcie, which was diverted to Vienna, Austria; and a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino. Also affected were a Wizz Air flight from Milan Malpensa to Bucharest, an Aegean Airlines flight from Thessaloniki to Milan Malpensa and a Ryanair flight from Porto to Milan Malpensa. The other flights involved are three Ryanair flights (from Madrid to Sofia, from Copenhagen to Sofia and from London Stansted to Sofia), a Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels and a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna, as well as four as yet unidentified flights to Prague and three to Madrid. These incidents come on top of this week’s cyber-attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, fuelling fears of a hybrid war aimed at destabilising Europe. The European Transport Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said “It is too early to draw conclusions as to whether the reported incidents are linked,” but “any threat to civilians is unacceptable. Ensuring safety and security remains a priority.” The Commissioner also explained that the Commission is “monitoring” the situation and is in contact with Member States and the EU Aviation Safety Agency.
The threats have all turned out to be false, but responsibility has yet to be established. A source at Aeroporti di Roma has confirmed to The Guardian that the false threats concerning the Helsinki–Rome and Dublin–Rome flights originated from an anonymous email written in Italian with the subject line “threat report”. The email was signed in the name of the “Combattenti dello Stato Maschile (Fighters of the Male State)” and stated that they intended to strike against a “feminist regime” and to “leave their mark on history.” The email, sent to ADR and its affiliated companies, also threatened to “paint the sky red” with explosions. In a separate incident involving a Ryanair flight from Pescara to Charleroi Airport, a suspicious message containing the word “bomb” was found in the aircraft’s toilet, triggering a security procedure. Following a thorough inspection of passengers and luggage, the alert was called off.
The Finnair flight from Helsinki to Fiumicino was escorted by Italian Air Force jets, a “normal” procedure according to the Defence Minister, Guido Crosetto, who points out that he has been discussing “the issue of hybrid threats for three or four years now; there is no need for a summit today.” This is “work that has been carried out over recent years and which must continue and be stepped up. It seems to me that now, every day – he adds – from fridges to blood supplies in France, to these false alarms, there is someone with an interest in fuelling tensions. We, on the other hand, have an interest in doing the opposite: in ensuring the country’s security,” he emphasises. “The work is ongoing, constant, and involves all sectors of the state that must deal with it: Defence for its part, the relevant sector, the police and anyone else with responsibility for it,” he points out, emphasising that this is “a strategy to generate chaos,” “stir up anxiety” and “create a climate of fear.”
Although airlines occasionally receive bomb threats, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen this level of coordination before,” Ben Smith, chief executive of Air France-KLM, told the Financial Times, explaining that the group, which has not yet been the target of any attacks, has robust protocols in place and does not need to make any changes, despite this week’s series of threats. These incidents should not lead consumers to “slow down or scale back their travel plans,” he added. “We are fairly confident that we have put everything in place to ensure minimal or no impact on our operations,” he said. “We maintain the highest level of vigilance at all times.”
* Article produced in collaboration with GEA Agency
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
