The key facts

  • Portuguese police found no explosive device on a Ryanair flight from Lisbon to Rome after an anonymous threat report
  • On November 5, false threat messages disrupted dozens of flights across Europe, forcing some aircraft to make unscheduled landings
  • On November 3, according to CNN, eight aircraft operating flights between European cities received bomb threat messages

Ryanair flight check completed with no threat found

Portuguese police found no explosive device aboard a Ryanair aircraft flying from Lisbon to Rome. The check was prompted by an anonymous message about a bomb threat received by Portuguese authorities, Reuters reports citing police data.

Series of false threats disrupted dozens of flights

The Ryanair flight incident fits into a series of similar messages that began this week. According to Reuters, on November 5 false bomb threat messages disrupted dozens of passenger flights across Europe: some aircraft had to make unscheduled landings, while fighter jets escorted or intercepted individual flights. Earlier, on November 3, as CNN reported, eight aircraft operating flights between European cities received bomb threat messages: two were en route to Warsaw and Rome, three to Sofia, and another message concerned a flight from Manchester to Murcia in Spain. In addition, a passenger aircraft landed at a military base in France due to a bomb threat.

What is known and what remains unclear

The check of the Ryanair flight confirmed that the threat was false, but sources do not report who is behind the distribution of anonymous messages or whether there is a connection between the incidents on different days. The publications also contain no information about casualties or on exactly how many flights were affected by the wave of threats on November 3 and 5. Reuters only notes that the escorting of aircraft by fighter jets has become a 'serious problem' after the first wave of similar incidents this week.