Fake bomb threats on planes? What the authorities have been saying

Uthe wave of false bomb threats has affected the aviation sector a little throughout Europe. Just this Friday, one of the alerts referred to a flight by Ryanair between Lisbon and Rome, which ended up two hours late in the security survey of the device that had to be carried out by elements of the Special Police Unit (UEP).

During this week, several European countries have reported threats to flights from different airlines, including Spain, France, Belgium, Austria, Poland, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Serbia and Romania.

The modus operandi in all cases is the same: anonymous emails sent to institutions, airport authorities and operators, warning about the alleged presence of explosives in commercial aircraft.

But what do the authorities say?

Despite the dozens of flights affected, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) considered alerts to pose a reduced threat for air safety. EFSA recalled that the assessment and response to bomb threats lies with national authorities, in conjunction with airport operators, airlines and security forces.

The European Commission announced activation of the information exchange mechanism on aviation security between the 27 Member States, bearing in mind that it is still early to determine whether all cases are related to each other.

What about Portugal?

A ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal questioned by News to Minutes made sure that “is monitoring these events, which are taking place at european level, in close liaison with the police authorities, providing all the necessary means and strengthening the passenger support teams in order to minimise any constraints caused”, referring other information to the Public Security Police (PSP).

For its part, the PSP also said that “has maintained, from the first moment, close links with the Judicial Police, particularly in the context of international police cooperation, as well as with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC), the airport managing body and the airline involved”.

“ The competent authorities are taking steps to clarify the origin and circumstances of the threat and, at this stage, additional elements that could compromise the investigation are not disclosed.”, continued, adding that “civil aviation security is a permanent priority, and all threats are assessed and treated with the required rigour, through coordinated action between airport security authorities”.

A NAV Portugal, responsible for air traffic management, also explained in response to the News to Minutesthis afternoon, that “The management of route changes, deviations and divergences is part of the normal activity of air traffic control. These situations can occur for different reasons and are managed daily, in accordance with applicable procedures, with permanent safety priority”.

“ This way, when an aircraft needs to change its route or diverge, NAV Portugal monitors the situation within its responsibilities, ensuring the necessary coordination with relevant actors and providing operational support to the flight”, reinforced.

According to the NAV, “the procedures for handling changes to the operation are foreseen and are the subject of preparation and training”, ensuring that “it remains focused on ensuring the safety and continuity of air traffic management”.

Threats

The alerts have already affected at least 25 flights between european countries. As in recent days, authorities across Europe today reported a new wave of bomb threats against commercial flights, including a plane from Ryanair that would leave Lisbon airport to Rome, which forced a security survey of the device by elements of the Special Police Unit (UEP).

In all cases, threats have turned out to be false, but concerns about hybrid attacks are growing at a time when Europe is dealing with other recent disturbances, such as repeated attacks on supermarket cooling systems in various countries and drone incursions.

In Hungary, the Defense Minister said military fighters escorted three separate passenger planes through the country's airspace, within an hour, following bomb threats, stating that these were flights from Brussels to Sofia and from Prague to Cyprus and Romania.

O irish government considered “probable” that the wave of false alerts is part of “a coordinated campaign to cause disruption” and the italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, warned that cyberattacks are underway “against civil infrastructure” in Europe. 

Also the French Prime Minister’s office, Sébastien Lecornu, reported that “four new bomb threats were made today against aircraft flying over French territory,” having landed safely at Orly Airport in Paris, where bomb-deactivation experts carried out the necessary inspections.

Other incidents included threats against a flight from Prague to Bucharest operated by the Romanian airline Tarom, and another one also departing from the Czech capital, operated by WizzAir to Rome, which would eventually be diverted to Venice.

In Copenhagen, the Danish police reported that they went to the airport for the second consecutive day “due to threats to air traffic”.