More Than Two Dozen Flights Disrupted by Hoax Bomb Threats Across Europe in One Week, Passenger Jet Lands Under Fighter Escort

Bomb threats disrupted flights of airlines in several European countries this week. Authorities said more than two dozen flights were disrupted by bomb threats, with aircraft diverted or forced to land at other airports in several countries including Italy, Poland and Spain.

Fighter jets were sent alongside some aircraft for security. Searches later found every threat to be a hoax, but by then hundreds of passengers had faced fear and disruption.

Early on Thursday, 62-year-old Italian passenger Nicola Timpone boarded an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome. He said a series of announcements by the pilot mid-flight changed the journey. Passengers were first told of a mechanical problem and that the aircraft would be taken to Paris, and later that it would land at another French airport to refuel.

According to Timpone, passengers realised the situation was not normal when they saw a military fighter jet outside the window. At one point the crew asked passengers to open the window shades and not to use mobile phones.

The aircraft landed at a French military airbase. Timpone said rows of police, fire service and ambulances were visible on both sides of the runway during landing, and he had to wait there with about 150 passengers. He said passengers were truly frightened by the scene.

French authorities directed the aircraft to land at a military airbase at Evreux, about 80 kilometres northwest of Paris. The French prime minister's office said fighter jets had been ordered to provide security for the aircraft. Its statement said the pilot did not cooperate with authorities as expected, without making clear why, and the Evreux public prosecutor has opened an investigation.

After landing, members of a bomb disposal team checked passengers' bags. Passengers had to wait inside the aircraft for about two hours, then were taken off ten at a time and searched by police and sniffer dogs. They were then taken by bus to another part of the airbase for further security checks.

Timpone, the head of a local development organisation in southern Italy and an art director, travels around the world for work, but after this incident he does not want to board a plane for at least the next three months. Staff of France's civil protection department gave the worried passengers food, water and psychological support. Timpone said that fortunately everything ended well, but such an experience leaves a deep mark on people's minds.

A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Paris was also hit by a bomb scare. Passenger Mateusz Boyarski, 28, was travelling on holiday with his girlfriend. For security reasons the aircraft was held at one end of the runway, and firefighters and police officers later searched it with sniffer dogs. The flight was allowed to take off about three hours late. Boyarski said they were not very frightened because they had already seen news of similar incidents, but many passengers were annoyed by the delay.

A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest faced the same situation. After the aircraft landed on a runway in Romania, fire vehicles and armed security guards arrived there. Among the passengers were two Italian postgraduate students, Margherita Cherai and Giovanni Martinelli, who said they had been hearing news of hoax bomb threats since the previous day and were therefore not very panicked.

John May, 45, was on the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome. He said that about an hour into the journey the pilot called the cabin crew into the cockpit, and the crew members later looked worried.

European Union Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it is not yet confirmed whether the bomb scare incidents are linked. However, with several threats emerging within a few days, some analysts are not ruling out a connection between them.