Europe hit by third wave of bomb threats in a week

A fresh wave of bomb threats targeting passenger aircraft across Europe has triggered security investigations and disrupted air travel for the third time this week, raising concerns about a possible coordinated campaign of psychological warfare.

The latest threats were reported on Friday in several European countries, including Denmark, the Czech Republic, France and Italy. The incidents followed a series of hoax alerts a day earlier that forced several aircraft to make unplanned landings and prompted fighter jets to escort or intercept passenger planes.

No explosives have been discovered in any of the reported incidents, and all affected aircraft have landed safely.

Danish police said they were investigating threats targeting air traffic at Copenhagen Airport. However, their initial assessment found no immediate danger to passengers. Airport authorities said operations were continuing normally.

In the Czech Republic, police received bomb threats involving flights arriving at and departing from Prague. According to an airport spokesperson, the threats concerned four inbound and five outbound flights. No explosives were found, and none of the flights had to be cancelled or diverted because of the alerts.

However, an Italian airport authority source later confirmed that a Wizz Air flight travelling from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, where it landed safely.

France also reported four additional bomb threats involving aircraft flying over its territory. The French prime minister’s office confirmed that all affected planes landed without incident.

Meanwhile, a security alert involving a Ryanair flight travelling from Rome to Lisbon prompted an emergency response after the aircraft landed, according to CNN Portugal.

The repeated incidents have raised suspicions among security experts that Europe could be facing a coordinated hybrid attack. Such operations typically involve disruption, intimidation and psychological pressure rather than conventional military action.

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the growing number of incidents across European countries could not easily be dismissed as coincidence.

Speaking to national broadcaster TVE, Albares said the similar methods used in the incidents suggested a possible campaign of hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. He warned that European countries should prepare for further challenges.

Authorities have not identified those responsible for the threats, and no country has officially been blamed.

The incidents come amid broader concerns about sabotage operations and suspected covert attacks targeting infrastructure and sensitive facilities across Europe.

Previous incidents have included attacks or attempted sabotage involving electricity substations in Germany, defence-related facilities in the Baltic region, supermarket refrigeration systems in France and Leipzig Airport in Germany.

Several European officials have linked these activities to Russia’s alleged efforts to destabilise countries supporting Ukraine in its war against Moscow. They have described such operations as relatively inexpensive and difficult to trace, allowing those responsible to create disruption without triggering a direct military confrontation.

However, investigators have yet to establish any connection between the latest aviation threats and the suspected sabotage campaign.

Earlier on Thursday, an Italian airport authority source reported that several airlines and airport operators in Rome and Milan had received threatening emails. The messages allegedly claimed to have been sent by members of a group calling itself the Male State.

The identity of the senders could not be independently verified. Vladislav Pozdnyakov, who founded the anti-feminist movement in Russia in 2016, said the group had ceased to exist and had no involvement in the threats.