No explosives found as hoax bomb threats hit European flights and newsrooms
Hoax bomb threats have disrupted flights across Europe and forced newsrooms in Dublin and London to evacuate, with no explosives found and investigators still seeking who is responsible.
How it was covered
- BBC Two carried 27% of the airtime and concentrated on expert debate on attribution, resilience and passenger experience.
- BBC One concentrated on verified flight logs, hoax threats and Russian hybrid warfare suspicions.
- BBC News concentrated on scale, verification and suspected foreign origin of hoaxes.
- GB News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Hoax bomb threats disrupted passenger flights across Europe and forced newsrooms in Dublin and London to evacuate on Friday, the latest in a series of security alerts this week. No explosives were found on any aircraft or in any building searched, and all affected planes landed safely.
The first wave on Tuesday affected at least seven flights from four airlines, including two departures from UK airports. A LOT flight from Heathrow to Warsaw was diverted to Modlin, a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Murcia was searched in Spain, and a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw was also checked. The UK government described the incidents as malicious hoax threats.
A second wave on Thursday was larger. ITV reported that 18 flights were disrupted, while the BBC said more than 20 and Sky News later said at least 27 flights were affected. An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military airbase near Paris, and ITV reported that a Ryanair flight from Stansted to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv. Italian fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight into Rome. BBC Verify published flight log data showing the Aer Lingus crew were told of a bomb-on-board threat before they diverted.
On Friday, the disruption spread to media organisations. RTE in Dublin was evacuated after a bomb threat and later allowed staff back in. ITV reported that ITN and Sky News also received email threats, and RTE's crime correspondent Paul Reynolds told BBC News that Irish police believed the email was sourced to a hacked school address in Lithuania. ITV reported that the Irish premier, Micheál Martin, promised extra security for next week's meeting of EU leaders in Dublin. Channel 5 reported that the latest wave affected at least 18 flights across nine countries.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the threats were malicious hoaxes and insisted UK aviation security was robust. The Spanish foreign minister said Europe appeared to be facing hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said there was a 'tsunami of circumstantial evidence' pointing to Russian hybrid warfare, but no hard evidence linking the hoaxes to Russia or any other state. A group calling itself Fighters of the Male State claimed some of the hoaxes, the BBC reported, though it was unclear whether the group was involved.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 6 or more of 7 channels | |||||||
| A second wave of hoax bomb threats on Thursday disrupted flights across Europe, with reports of 18 to 27 flights affected, Heathrow and Birmingham airports also receiving threats, and all landed safely with no explosives found. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC Two | Reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | |||
| An A320 flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Evreux Airbase after a bomb threat, according to the French prime minister's office. | Not reported by Channel 4 | ||||||
| At least seven passenger flights across Europe were affected by suspected bomb threats in a 24-hour period, including two from UK airports. | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||||
| Reports named various European countries and airlines as involved in the threats, including the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, the UK and Spain, with carriers such as Wizz Air, Finnair, Ryanair and Aer Lingus. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Reported by a few · 2–5 channels | |||||||
| Media organisations in Ireland and the UK received bomb threats, including ITN and RTE; RTE was evacuated while live on air and no devices were found. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||||
| Newsrooms in Ireland, including national broadcaster RTE, were evacuated after threats. | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | ||||
| No explosives were found on the affected or inspected flights, and all affected flights landed safely. | Not reported by BBC Two | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||||
| The UK government said two bomb threats on flights from the UK were malicious hoaxes. | Reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC Two | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| A series of bomb threats affected multiple flights across Europe: a Rome-bound flight was diverted to Venice and evacuated, at least seven flights were threatened on Tuesday, at least 21 more yesterday, and three were escorted by Hungarian fighter jets today. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | ||||
| A series of hoax threats disrupted almost 30 flights. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by ITV | ||||
| Airline bomb threats continued for a third day, with the latest wave affecting at least 18 flights across nine countries. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | ||||
| A Ryanair flight from Manchester to Murcia carried 121 people including crew, and a search found no explosives. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| An LOT Polish Airlines flight from Heathrow to Warsaw Chopin was diverted to Modlin Airport after a suspected bomb threat; 181 passengers disembarked safely, Modlin Airport briefly closed and reopened, and no bomb was found. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Aviation security expert Paul Mason said the threats were highly unlikely to be a coincidence and looked coordinated, while a reported assessment said they were unlikely to be random and pointed to a deliberate attempt to cause disruption. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Bomb threats, including those received by ITN and Sky News, were being treated as malicious hoaxes. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| Military aircraft escorted several flights to the ground in France, Italy and Bulgaria, with some aircraft still in the air at the time. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |||
| Suspected bomb threats prompted four flights, two from UK airports, to make unscheduled landings at European airports; one LOT flight from Heathrow to Warsaw landed at Modlin Airport. | Reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| A BBC security correspondent reported a possible link to a Russian group called Mushkoi Lejon while noting that the evidence was unclear. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| A Ryanair flight from Dublin to Rome was escorted by the Italian Air Force on landing. | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Rome airport authorities received an email from a group called Fighters of the Male State that claimed to target a feminist regime. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Spain's foreign minister described the apparent threat to Europe as hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||||
| A security correspondent described the threats as simultaneous and coordinated, and said they disrupted flights despite no explosives being found. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| According to the BBC, the incidents were being treated as separate. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| BBC Two's presenter said Whitehall did not believe a serious state actor was responsible for the malicious hoaxes. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Former easyJet captain Emma Henderson stated that all threats to aircraft are treated seriously. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| Gardaí suspected foreign actors and believed the email may have come from a possibly hacked school address in Lithuania. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Ireland held the EU presidency and around 50 heads of state, including President Zelensky, were due in Dublin on Thursday and Friday. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The French prime minister's office said it was monitoring the situation in real time under established procedures. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC News | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| The RTE threat email arrived at around 8.30am. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by BBC Two | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC One West leaned on correspondents Mark Ashdown and Frank Gardner to track the flight-by-flight disruption, verify flight logs and test the Russian hybrid warfare theory. Its tone was measured, repeatedly noting that no hard evidence had yet tied the hoaxes to a state. It also carried the newsroom evacuations and official warnings about copycats.
- “European airspace is on high alert after a day of bomb threats.”
- “Officially, the incidents are being treated as separate, but authorities across Europe are working together to establish who was behind the hoaxes.”
- “A full-scale security alert today at rte ireland's public service broadcaster”
Channel 5 pushed the story beyond aviation, reporting that ITN, which makes 5 News, received a threat and that staff were told to take security advice. It used its own reporter at Manchester Airport and a former aviation expert to explain why hoaxes still force costly disruption. It also counted the alerts as a fifth day of incidents and said the latest wave hit at least 18 flights across nine countries.
- “We are now in the fifth day of bomb threats targeting flights across Europe”
- “It has moved beyond aviation into the media industry.”
- “the safety and security of our staff is paramount. We have carried out a security assessment and informed the police.”
ITV focused on the scale and human impact of the disruption, with passenger accounts, airport pictures and correspondent reports on each new wave. By Friday it made the newsroom threats the lead, naming RTE, ITN and Sky News and stressing that no devices were found. It also gave airtime to official assurances about robust aviation security.
- “It's no longer just flights.”
- “For this to be sustained and on the scale it's been, it does look like it's a deliberate attempt to cause the level of disruption we've seen and my fear is that it will continue.”
- “No explosives were found on any of the affected flights today.”
BBC News gave the story a verification and investigation frame, using aviation security expert Paul Mason, BBC Verify's Thomas Copeland and RTE's Paul Reynolds. It focused on the technical evidence from flight tracking and on the Irish police belief that one threat email came from a hacked Lithuanian school address. The channel was careful to say that suspicion of Russian involvement had not hardened into proof.
- “It's highly unlikely that they would be a coincidence.”
- “then finally it receives a government order to land at a military air base west of Paris”
- “The email for example has been sourced to Lithuania.”
Channel 4 used short round-up summaries that concentrated on the headline facts: flights disrupted, no explosives found and the political language around the threats. It was the channel that foregrounded the Spanish foreign minister's description of hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. Its coverage was brief and gave little space to individual flights or passenger accounts.
- “All have landed safely.”
- “Almost 30 flights were disrupted yesterday by a series of hoax threats.”
- “Europe appears to be facing what he termed a hybrid aggression and a form of psychological warfare.”
BBC Two's Newsnight treated the hoaxes as a security and resilience problem, interviewing a passenger, a former NATO analyst and MPs about attribution and public preparedness. It gave more room than other channels to doubts about the Russian theory and to the question of whether counter-terrorism agencies were fully engaged. The programme also discussed how governments should communicate risk without encouraging copycats.
- “We got the first flight out from Dublin this morning at 6.30 this morning. On our way to the French wedding, we got a message from the pilot saying that there was an incident and that we would have to land in Paris.”
- “It is cheap, it is deniable, it is sub the threshold of war”
- “it doesn't look like counter-terrorist police, security services are engaged in a deep investigation in this.”
Sky News focused on breaking alerts and operational detail, carrying the French prime minister's office statement on the diversion of an Aer Lingus A320 to Evreux airbase. It then used former EasyJet captain Emma Henderson to explain what crews are told in the air and why passengers may not learn of a threat until landing. Its coverage stressed that every threat is treated as serious even when it proves false.
- “from Dublin to Rome has just been diverted to the Evreux Airbase following a bomb threat.”
- “the hoax threats affected at least 27 flights across Europe yesterday”
- “every threat that's made against an aircraft is always going to be taken seriously, and rightly so.”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 21:19 GMT
Paul Mason, aviation security expert
The Context · Tue 3 Nov - 21:21 GMT
- 21:18 GMT
Paul Reynolds, crime correspondent at the Irish broadcaster RTE News
The Context · Fri 6 Nov - 21:22 GMT
Patrick Bury, former NATO analyst and British Army officer
The Context · Fri 6 Nov
- 13:46 GMT
- 22:20 GMT
Heidi Alexander, Transport Secretary
BBC News and Weather · Thu 5 Nov
- 22:47 GMT
Emily Noble, a passenger on a diverted Aer Lingus flight to Rome
Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thu 5 Nov - 22:48 GMT
Sir Ken McCallum, Director General of MI5
Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thu 5 Nov - 22:49 GMT
Matt Western, the Labour MP who chairs the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy
Newsnight, followed by Weather · Thu 5 Nov - 19:19 GMT
Gordon Corera, security journalist, co-host of The Rest is Classified
Newsnight, followed by Weather · Fri 6 Nov
- 09:01 GMT
- 09:23 GMT
Emma Henderson, former captain of the EasyJet
Mornings with Jones and Melbourne · Fri 6 Nov
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.