ROME, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- A single anonymous email triggered bomb alerts on two Rome-bound passenger flights on Thursday morning, prompting military escorts and the diversion of one aircraft to France, Italian public broadcaster Rai News 24 reported.
The email, written in Italian, was sent to Rome's Fiumicino airport operator Aeroporti di Roma (ADR) and other companies based at the airport, the broadcaster reported, citing investigative sources. Italian postal police, whose responsibilities include investigating cybercrime, were investigating the case.
Finnair flight AY1761 from Helsinki was escorted by Italian air force jets and landed at Fiumicino around 9:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT), according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Finnish public broadcaster Yle later quoted Finnair as saying that the threat had been "found to be false." Security checks found no explosive devices aboard.
The second Rome-bound flight, an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, was diverted to Evreux, France, under military escort following a bomb threat, Rai News 24 reported.
An Italian passenger told ANSA that the aircraft was parked on a secondary runway, surrounded by emergency vehicles, while passengers remained aboard awaiting instructions.
Separately, a Wizz Air flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna after receiving a bomb threat during the flight, the airline said.
The incidents followed similar alerts earlier this week involving two Ryanair flights to Fiumicino from Lisbon and Dublin respectively. Both were escorted by military aircraft and checked after landing, with no explosive devices found aboard.
The latest alerts came amid a new wave of bomb threats targeting passenger flights across Europe on Thursday. ■
