Hoax bomb threats disrupt flights across Europe for second time this week

A wave of bomb threats aimed at commercial flights in Europe led to diversions and military escorts for hundreds of passengers this week, and officials have described the threats as malicious hoaxes, according to the Associated Press in a report carried by PBS NewsHour.

BBC News reported that more than 20 aircraft across Europe were targeted. The BBC said this was the second round of such threats this week and that the United Kingdom had called the latest one a "malicious hoax."

The AP reported that the source of the threats was not immediately known. They arrived amid rising tensions with Russia and warnings that Moscow may be increasing so-called hybrid attacks in Europe. Neither outlet reported that any group had claimed responsibility.

According to the AP, many of the threats were emailed and included enough detail for authorities to conclude the planes should be checked. BBC Verify said it had studied messages sent by one affected aircraft to show how air traffic control passed a warning along to the crew.

The AP outlined the standard response. Joji Waites, who leads safety, policy and regulatory work at the British Airline Pilots' Association, told the AP that assessors sort each threat into one of three levels: credible, partly credible or not credible. When a threat is rated credible, the crew is alerted at once and the captain takes charge, working through a safety checklist. A grounded plane would be evacuated, while one in the air would set down as soon as it could do so safely.

The AP reported that airlines, airports and police typically follow guidance from the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union's aviation safety agency. Crew members train in exercises that include searching a cabin for concealed explosives.

Philip Baum, an aviation security specialist who is a visiting professor at Coventry University, told the AP that a diversion can cost an airline as much as $250,000. He said the expense may be smaller in this case because most affected flights were short trips, where overnight delays are less likely.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank told the AP that the aim of the threats "appears to be to sow chaos, uncertainty, about the reliability of air traffic across Europe."

Kirkegaard also suggested the threats might serve as a kind of stress test. In his view, they could reveal how quickly and how smoothly authorities in different countries react and coordinate, exposing gaps that could be used later. He offered the example of measuring how fast officials in Poland respond against how fast officials in Italy do.

No injuries were mentioned in the coverage reviewed.

Compiled by True News from reporting by PBS NewsHour and BBC News. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/811