The key facts
- Italian aviation services received letters with bomb threats on board; alerts were declared on flights from Helsinki and Dublin to Rome
- The 'Men's State'* involvement in the mailings has not yet been established
- The materials are planned to be handed over to the prosecutor's office; investigators are checking a connection with earlier threats against aircraft and hundreds of schools
Threat letters and the aviation services' response
Emails containing bomb threats against passenger aircraft in Europe turned out to be signed on behalf of the 'Fighters of the Men's State'*. The Italian aviation services received such messages, the ANSA and Adnkronos agencies report citing sources familiar with the situation. At the same time, the organization's involvement in the mailings has not yet been established.
Content of the letters and affected flights
According to journalists, the letters were written in Italian and contained warnings about possible explosive devices on board. After they were received, an alert was declared on two flights heading to Rome from Helsinki and Dublin. Similar messages, signed with the same name, were sent to the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) — they concerned aircraft arriving at and departing from Milan's Malpensa airport.
Investigation and the EU's response
Adnkronos sources claim that the group on whose behalf the letters were sent is already on the radar of the Italian intelligence services. Law enforcement agencies are examining the messages and identifying the senders; aviation and postal police officers have joined the checks. According to ANSA, the materials on the threats are planned to be handed over to the prosecutor's office to decide whether to open criminal cases. Investigators are also checking a possible connection with earlier reports of bomb threats against aircraft and hundreds of schools.
Context: a wave of threats on flights in Europe
European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas reacted to the situation: in his words, passenger safety remains a priority for the European Union, and European agencies are exchanging information and coordinating with national authorities. Earlier, Life.ru reported on a new wave of bomb threats on more than ten flights in Europe: in particular, an Aer Lingus aircraft flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a military airbase in France, and similar warnings were received regarding flights heading to Prague, Sofia and other European cities.
What is known and what remains unclear
Thus, at this point only the match between the signature in the letters and the organization's name has been confirmed: investigators have not claimed its involvement in the mailings. The senders of the messages are also unknown — Italian law enforcement agencies are working to identify them, and the question of opening criminal cases has not yet been decided. The new element in this story compared with the previously reported wave of threats is precisely the signature on the letters and the attention of the Italian intelligence services to the group in question.
