Bomb threats affect at least 25 flights, leading to emergency landings at several European airports

A coordinated wave of bomb threats disrupted European air travel on 3 November 2026, affecting at least 25 flights and prompting emergency landings or diversions across multiple countries, according to Radio-Canada and corroborating outlets. Security checks were conducted at affected airports, with authorities reporting that no incendiary devices were found after inspections and that operations proceeded with caution as investigations continued.

Across the coverage, several notable flight diversions and landings are documented. Ynetnews reports that Aer Lingus flight EI402, traveling from Dublin to Rome with 151 passengers and six crew, diverted to an air base in Évreux-Fauville after pilots switched to emergency squawk code 7700; the aircraft landed safely and security procedures were underway upon arrival. In Bulgaria, Ynetnews notes that three passenger aircraft were forced to land—two arriving from Copenhagen and Madrid at Sofia, and a third from London diverting to Plovdiv—with security inspections ongoing and airline details not released at the time.

Italian authorities escorted a Finnair flight en route from Helsinki to Rome to land at Rome Fiumicino, with Italian reports indicating that security procedures were conducted but operations continued normally. Additional threats against flights bound for Milan Malpensa were reported, with both aircraft landing safely, according to the same cross-source summaries. The incidents extended into Belgium as well, where a LOT Polish Airlines passenger aircraft landed at Brussels Zaventem following a security alert, though details from officials were not published in the material.

Several outlets emphasize the scale and cross-border coordination of the response. WION notes that at least 12 flights were targeted across several countries and that some affected aircraft received fighter jet escorts as a precaution, underscoring the multinational, into-the-air and on-the-ground security procedures activated during the wave. CBS News frames the event as involving at least 15 commercial European flights under bomb threat on Thursday, with a context that the weekly total across Europe surpassed 20 threats, though it does not provide individual flight numbers within the cited material.

The broader narrative of the disruption is echoed by Al Jazeera, which reports that the bomb threats triggered a coordinated series of emergency landings and diversions across multiple countries, affecting flights in France, Italy, and Bulgaria, while investigations were launched and airport security controls tightened in the affected locations. The coverage from تسنیم also alludes to a broad and rapid security response across several countries, describing a cluster of threats that led to precautionary measures, though it notes that specific flight numbers and timing are not consistently disclosed across sources.

Poland emerges as a focal point in several reports. Mezha.net’s synthesis highlights two inbound Warsaw-bound flights as part of the cluster: LOT Polish Airlines Flight LO286, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from London Heathrow to Warsaw, diverted to Warsaw-Modlin Airport, where emergency services evacuated all 181 passengers and crew for inspection; and a Scandinavian Airlines flight arriving from Copenhagen that landed under emergency conditions at Warsaw Chopin Airport, with passengers disembarking as police conducted investigations. The Times of India, cited within Mezha.net’s synthesis, corroborates cross-agency coordination in Poland as part of the nationwide response. The Times of India’s coverage also aligns with reports of multiple security actions and investigations in connection with these diversions.

Spain joined the high-alert operations with a significant security response at Murcia-Corvera Airport, according to Mezha.net’s aggregation. A Ryanair flight carrying 121 people from Manchester landed safely around 10:30 am local time after a bomb threat, with airport operator Aena coordinating a large-scale response, isolating the aircraft and relocating passengers for screening; the Guardia Civil and other agencies were involved in the security process, per the summary, though specific outcomes for all passengers were not detailed in the cited material. The coverage notes ongoing security procedures and inspections in France and Italy as part of the broader operation.

Overall, the reporting consistently portrays a multi-day, cross-border security operation in response to a wave of bomb threats targeting European passenger flights, with emergency landings, diversions, and escorted flights as central features. The outlets converge on the basic facts that at least 12 to 15 flights were directly affected on a single day, with a cumulative figure of no fewer than 25 flights across Europe undergoing checks or emergency landings, and that no explosives were found during inspections in the initial assessments. Specific flight numbers, routes, and outcomes are dispersed among outlets, and where details differ, the citations above indicate the source reporting the particular element.