European flights hit by fresh bomb threats

European aviation authorities reported a new wave of bomb threats against passenger flights on Friday, continuing a series of hoaxes that have disrupted air travel across the continent this week. Officials confirmed 11 threats on Friday, following 14 on Thursday and seven on Tuesday. No injuries have been reported, and no suspicious items have been found on the affected aircraft.

The European Union’s transportation commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, announced that security experts will convene in Brussels next week to coordinate a response. He stated that the priority is passenger safety and the smooth functioning of European aviation. Eurocontrol noted that the Thursday threats affected only 0.05% of the nearly 26,300 flights on the European network that day.

In Hungary, defense minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said fighter jets escorted three passenger planes through the country's airspace on Friday. The flights originated in Brussels, Prague, and were bound for Sofia, Cyprus, and Romania. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office reported four threats to aircraft over France, with the planes landing safely at Paris' Orly Airport for inspection by bomb disposal teams.

Czech authorities identified nine affected flights coming from or going to Václav Havel Airport in Prague. A WizzAir flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, where passengers were evacuated after landing. A Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest and a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome also received threats. Czech police said security measures had a minimal impact on normal airport operations.

Broadcasters joined the list of targets on Friday. The national broadcaster RTE in Dublin evacuated its headquarters after a threat, replacing live broadcasts with prerecorded content until police and sniffer dogs cleared the building. Sky News in the U.K. and NOVA TV in Bulgaria also reported receiving security threats. NOVA TV said the sender claimed responsibility for the air traffic threats.

Authorities have not linked the threats to a specific state or group, though some messages described the sender as anti-feminist. Paul Reuter, vice president of the European Cockpit Association, said crews are prepared to review procedures and carry extra fuel. He called the use of civil aviation for geopolitical disruption totally unacceptable. Torstein Nymoen, a Norwegian traveler in Prague, said the disruptions are a big problem for aviation companies.

An email reviewed by The Associated Press sent to Rome airport authorities on Thursday purported to come from a group targeting a feminist regime. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said the threats illustrate how simple it is to cause disruption. He noted that a very significant security operation will be in place next week for European Political Community and EU leader meetings in Dublin.