At least a dozen commercial flights made unscheduled or high-alert landings across Europe after bomb or security threats, according to authorities in the countries involved. Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, Czechia, Spain, Serbia and Bulgaria were named as locations.
An Airbus A320 operated by Aer Lingus was diverted to the Evreux airbase west of Paris after a bomb threat. The plane was flying from Dublin to Rome. The office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said it was monitoring the situation "in real time." Lecornu's office later confirmed the plane landed safely. France's air force said it dispatched planes "as soon as the incident was reported."
Other flights made unscheduled landings in Vienna, Austria, and in Bulgaria. A flight from Finland landed in Rome as scheduled but with a military escort. Several others landed at their scheduled destinations amid security alerts.
Earlier this week, bomb threats against flights operated by LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair prompted similar diversions. Tuesday's incidents turned out to be hoaxes. Preliminary information showed no sign of dangerous materials in Thursday's threats, the report said.
European Union Transport and Tourism Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas wrote online that threats against civilians were unacceptable. He said: "It is too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked. National investigations remain ongoing."
The report notes that the flight disruptions coincided with a series of apparent cyberattacks targeting freezer units in major supermarkets and French blood banks. It says it is not yet clear whether the events are connected. The report states that the cases have the potential hallmarks of so-called hybrid attacks, which are designed to cause maximum disruption with minimal effort and resources.