Five planes have received bomb threats in flight at different points in Europe in the last 24 hours

LondonIn the last 24 hours, five planes have received bomb threats in mid-flight in different parts of Europe. Three of the aircraft had departed from the United Kingdom and were heading to destinations on the continent, including Murcia. The fourth was covering the route between Copenhagen and Warsaw. And the fifth had taken off from Israel, according to reports from Bulgarian media.

One of the affected flights, from the company Ryanair, was covering the route between Manchester and the Spanish city this Tuesday. The threat forced Aena to activate the security protocol at the Region of Murcia International Airport (AIRM). The plane landed at 10:30 AM, within the scheduled time, as confirmed by the airport manager to Europa Press. Subsequently, the Spanish government delegate in the community, Francisco Lucas, reported that the 114 passengers and the seven crew members had disembarked and were undergoing security checks.

Members of the Civil Guard's Tedax (explosive ordnance disposal unit) from Alicante are currently inspecting the aircraft to determine if there was any explosive device inside. In addition to the Civil Guard and the National Police, firefighter and medical personnel have been mobilized. A crisis committee has also been set up at the airport itself.

The Murcia incident practically coincided in time with another bomb alert on a different plane that had also taken off from London this morning. In this case, an aircraft from the Polish company LOT had to make an unscheduled landing at Warsaw-Modlin Airport after a warning was received about the possible presence of a device on board. The alert forced the temporary suspension of airport operations while security teams inspected the aircraft.

The alert was communicated at 9:54 AM, when the plane, a Boeing 737 MAX covering the route between Heathrow and Warsaw's Chopin Airport, was in mid-flight. Seven minutes later, at 10:01 AM, the aircraft landed in Modlin with 181 passengers. According to airport management, the aircraft was taken to an area designated for inspections by specialized explosive ordnance teams. Passengers were able to disembark without any reported injuries.

This was the second security alert in Warsaw recorded this Tuesday, as yet another plane, in this case from the Scandinavian company SAS coming from Copenhagen, also received a warning about a possible explosive device and landed at Chopin Airport, where the relevant checks began. Unlike Modlin, this second airport maintained scheduled operations.

A fourth emergency landing took place in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, after, according to local media, a bomb threat was received via email on a flight that had departed from Israel. The secretary general of the Ministry of the Interior, Lyubomir Nikolov, reported that the aircraft is being inspected at this moment.

The four incidents that took place this Tuesday are added to the one that occurred yesterday, on another flight that was taking off from the United Kingdom, in this case from the company Wizz Air. A Wizz Air plane covering the London-Sofia route had to interrupt its journey and made an emergency landing in Budapest, also after receiving a bomb threat on board.

Alpha Alert

A Hungarian Air Force fighter jet escorted it until it landed without incident in the country's capital. According to Hungary's Minister of Defence, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, the threat activated the Alpha alert of NATO's air surveillance service. One of the Hungarian Gripen aircraft took off in a matter of minutes and secured the landing of the passenger plane, before returning to its base in Kecskemét.

Reports from Hungarian media stated that the aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, changed course while flying over Bosnia and Herzegovina and landed in Budapest at 12:08 p.m., local time. At the airport, police, firefighters, and counter-terrorism units were waiting, and one of the runways was temporarily closed while the security operation was deployed. Wizz Air confirmed that the authorities are inspecting the plane, where nothing suspicious was found.