Fake bomb reports affected 20 flights in Europe — The Local Germany

About 20 flights in Europe were affected by false reports of explosive devices on Thursday. Fighter jets were scrambled and commercial aircraft were diverted because of the threats. The incidents mainly involved low-cost carriers and flights to or from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Italy, The Local Germany reports.

Threats in the name of Male State

The people who sent the threats have not been officially identified: none of the security services or governments of the countries affected by the incidents has publicly named those responsible. Some of the messages seen by AFP contained misogynistic statements and allegedly came in the name of “Male State fighters.”

One email sent to several addresses at Sofia Airport said that explosive devices had allegedly been planted on three Ryanair flights to Bulgaria. Birmingham Airport in the United Kingdom received a similar false threat, according to AFP. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera also published the text of a threat concerning two flights to Rome; a source at ADR, the company that manages Rome’s airports, confirmed the information to AFP.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Unconfirmed link to Russia

AFP reported that the far-right Male State movement exists in Russia, but the agency was unable to confirm its connection to the emails. Lou Osborne, founder of the non-governmental organization Inpact, told AFP that the movement uses Nazi symbolism and has thousands of members.

The BBC reported that as of Thursday evening, there was no convincing evidence linking the aviation threats to Russia, Iran or proxy groups controlled by them. Eric Schouten, head of aviation security company Dyami, told Reuters that proving the involvement of a state actor in such threats is extremely difficult. In his view, the situation is consistent with methods of hybrid sabotage, the increase of which experts have discussed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.