LONDON: About 10 European flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing the brief closure of a Warsaw airport and the scrambling of air force planes in Rome, authorities said.
No explosives were found, despite extensive searches on the ground after the planes all took off and landed safely in different European cities just several hours apart. Irish budget carrier Ryanair appeared to be the worst hit, with four of its flights to different destinations being targeted.
Two bomb warnings targeted planes heading to the Polish capital Warsaw, including an SAS Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen and one from Heathrow operated by Polish airline LOT, Polish airport authorities said.
Other Ryanair flights from Lisbon to Rome, Dublin to Rome, and Dublin to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia also received warnings.
Italian air force jets were scrambled to escort Ryanair flight FR9611 from Dublin as it landed at Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45 am (0945 GMT), Rome Airport said in a statement.
A Wizz Air flight from Bergamo, Italy, was inspected after landing at 0910 GMT in the Bulgarian capital Sofia following an alert, a Bulgarian interior ministry spokesperson told AFP.
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