Ryanair plane with bomb threat lands in Plovdiv: military escort and third day of false alarms in Europe

A Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv due to a bomb threat on board. A transcript of communications with controllers shows that the pilots were warned about being escorted by a military aircraft. The incident occurred against the backdrop of a third consecutive day of false bomb threats affecting about 20 flights in Europe.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 6 November 2026 at 15:421 min read

The key facts

Ryanair flight London Stansted — Sofia landed in Plovdiv due to a bomb threat
Controllers warned the pilots about interception by a military aircraft
Sofia could not accept additional aircraft: two planes with similar threats had already landed there

Flight diversion and interception by a military aircraft

A Ryanair aircraft flying from London Stansted airport to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv after a report of a bomb threat on board. This was reported by Euronews, which published a recording of cockpit communications: controllers warned the crew that a military aircraft would escort them through Bulgarian airspace.

Why the landing did not take place in Sofia

The recording also explains the choice of the alternate airport: the pilots were told that two other aircraft with similar threats had already landed in Sofia, and the airport could not accept another diverted flight. Thus, the landing in Plovdiv was a forced measure due to the capital's airport being overloaded, rather than a choice made for security reasons.

Context: third day of false alarms

The incident occurred against the backdrop of, according to Euronews, about 20 flights across Europe being affected by false bomb reports for the third day in a row. The Ryanair flight to Sofia is one episode in this series; the source does not name the perpetrators of the threats and does not report on the results of the aircraft inspection after landing.