No explosive devices were found during aircraft inspections in the four countries. Airports in Murcia, Spain, and Warsaw-Modlin, Poland had resumed normal operations, while Bulgarian authorities confirmed that checks on two aircraft arriving in Sofia had been completed.
WARSAW, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Bomb threats involving passenger flights triggered security checks and disrupted airport operations across several European countries on Tuesday. The threats prompted a flight diversion in Poland, fighter jet escorts in Italy and aircraft searches in Spain and Bulgaria.
However, no explosive devices were found during aircraft inspections in the four countries. Airports in Murcia, Spain, and Warsaw-Modlin, Poland had resumed normal operations, while Bulgarian authorities confirmed that checks on two aircraft arriving in Sofia had been completed.
The incidents followed a similar bomb alert that forced a London-Sofia flight to divert to Budapest on Monday.
In Spain, a Ryanair flight from Manchester, Britain, landed safely at the Region of Murcia International Airport on Tuesday morning after receiving an alert. The flight was carrying 114 passengers and seven crew members.
Following the alert, airport authorities activated emergency security protocols and established a crisis committee. All passengers and crew disembarked and underwent security checks, while bomb disposal specialists from Spain's Civil Guard inspected the aircraft.
Francisco Lucas, the Spanish government's representative in the Murcia region, confirmed that no explosives had been found and that the airport had resumed normal operations.
Similar checks were carried out in Italy, where two Ryanair planes arriving from Lisbon and Dublin landed safely at Rome's Fiumicino Airport after bomb threats were reported on board, local media reported.
The two planes, escorted by Italian Air Force fighter jets, landed at 9:40 a.m. (0840 GMT) and 10:44 a.m. (0944 GMT) respectively. Italian State Police bomb disposal experts subsequently searched the aircraft and passengers' luggage in accordance with security procedures.
The inspections were completed around noon, with no explosive devices or suspicious items found, and no injuries reported among passengers or crew members.
In Poland, a bomb alert aboard a passenger plane flying from London's Heathrow Airport to Warsaw Chopin Airport led to its diversion to Warsaw-Modlin Airport and the temporary closure of the latter, the Polish Press Agency reported.
The alert was raised at 9:54 a.m. (0854 GMT), and the Boeing 737 MAX landed at Modlin seven minutes later with 181 people on board.
The aircraft was directed to a designated area, where security services, including bomb disposal teams, responded to the reported threat. The airline later said nothing had been found on board.
Airport authorities said the alert had been lifted, and normal operations had resumed following the completion of security procedures.
The disruption also affected other flights. An aircraft arriving from Edinburgh made an intermediate landing in Poznan before reaching Modlin, more than an hour after its scheduled arrival. A flight to Tenerife also departed later than scheduled, according to the airport.
In Bulgaria, authorities confirmed that two aircraft arriving at Sofia Airport from Bergamo, Italy, and Dublin, Ireland, had been inspected following bomb threats, with no explosive devices found.
The threats concerning both aircraft were received in a single email at around 10:35 a.m. (0835 GMT), the Border Police told the Bulgarian News Agency, BTA.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lyubomir Nikolov, the acting secretary general of the Bulgarian Interior Ministry, said counter-terrorism units were checking an aircraft at Sofia Airport as threats had been sent to various institutions.
He said the targeting of airlines required additional security measures and could force changes to flight routes. Authorities have followed protocols and responded to every alert received, he added.
A Wizz Air passenger plane flying from London to Sofia on Monday diverted to Budapest after receiving a bomb threat, Hungarian Defense Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said.
The aircraft interrupted its original route and requested permission to land at Budapest's Liszt Ferenc International Airport, the minister said on Facebook.
The incident triggered a NATO air policing ALPHA alert, prompting the Hungarian Armed Forces to deploy Gripen fighter jets within minutes to escort the passenger aircraft to a safe landing.■
