There have been more than 20 flights affected today around Europe, after various airports were emailed bomb threats, some of which were signed by a “Fighters of the Male State”.
All the affected flights were either inspected before take-off, diverted, escorted by fighter planes, or flew to their destinations, where the aircraft were inspected.
Note that not all the threats that airlines receive are considered credible, and usually real threats are not announced before the event itself.
These threats, however, cause headaches for airlines, airports, and passengers because aircraft must be inspected and, in some cases, diverted to alternate airports.
The notice that was sent to airports:
“We, the fighters of the Male State, will make history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red.”
IATA’s Statement: Here are the affected flights today, per the Guardian:
EI-DEH Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, diverted to Evreux, France
FR6410 Ryanair flight from Madrid to Sofia
FR3606 Ryanair flight from Copenhagen to Sofia
FR1730 Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Sofia, diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria
LO235 LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Brussels
W46387 Wizz Air flight from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw-Okęcie, diverted to Vienna, Austria (
AY1761 Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino
AY 1471 Finnair flight from Helsinki to Vienna
U23179 easyJet flight from Glasgow to Prague
U25629 easyJet flight from Newcastle to Prague
FR7326 Ryanair flight from Dublin to Prague
GQ750 Sky Express flight from Athens to Prague
W43064 Wizz Air flight from Milan-Malpensa to Bucharest
A3552 Aegean Airlines flight from Thessaloniki to Milan-Malpensa
FR8953 Ryanair flight from Porto to Milan-Malpensa
IBE668 Iberia flight from Milan to Madrid
IBE658 Iberia flight from Rome to Madrid
UX1027 Air Europa flight from Madrid to Paris
JU102 Air Serbia flight from Belgrade to Bucharest
A3860 Aegean Airlines flight from Athens to Vienna
LO331 LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Paris
FR901 Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Cork
Conclusion
This “Fighters of the Male State” is apparently some group in Russia that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone in Europe.
These fake bomb threats are just a nuisance that needs to be taken seriously, however.