Bomb Alerts Hit Flights Across Europe, Italy Scrambles Jets
Bomb alerts on flights in Belgium, Bulgaria and Italy forced diversions and jet escorts on Nov. 5, as Italy scrambled Air Force planes to escort a Rome-bound flight.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - Warnings of a bomb threat on several flights operated by airlines in Europe, including Belgium, Bulgaria and Italy, triggered strict security measures on Nov. 5, forcing diversions and military escorts across the continent.
In Italy, the country’s official news agency reported that an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome and a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw had to be diverted because of bomb alarms. At the same time, the Italian Air Force scrambled jets to escort a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome’s Fiumicino airport after an anonymous report that an explosive was on board.
Bomb alerts were reported on a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome and a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw on Thursday, with the Wizz Air jet rerouted to Vienna, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Wizz Air said its W4 6387 flight was rerouted to Vienna after taking off from Milan’s Malpensa Silvio Berlusconi airport following a bomb threat.
The Aer Lingus flight from Dublin, carrying 151 people, was rerouted to the Evreux airbase in northern France, escorted by French military jets, for the same reason.
The Finnair flight landed in Rome as planned at around 9:30. Sources said the subsequent checks on the plane were not affecting operations at Rome’s airport.
The Helsinki-Rome flight was escorted to Rome by a fighter jet and checked by bomb disposal experts, according to the ANSA report, which an airport spokesman confirmed to AFP.
About a dozen flights across Europe had previously been targeted by false bomb threats this week, including one from Lisbon to Rome, prompting Italian Air Force planes to be scrambled.
Authorities in the affected countries have so far responded to each alert with diversions, escorts and checks on the aircraft concerned.