In brief

• Paris prosecutors opened an inquiry into fake bomb threats against commercial flights across Europe, aiming to identify the senders and check for foreign links.
• Dozens of flights were diverted, escorted, evacuated or searched on Thursday and Friday in France, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, and no bomb was found.
• The source of the threats has not been established; experts suspect Russia or Iran, but no suspect has been named.

Investigation opened in Paris

The Paris prosecutor's office on Saturday launched an inquiry into false bomb threats that were directed at commercial flights earlier this week. According to the AFP news agency, investigators want to identify the people who sent the emails spreading the false information and examine whether they had any ties to foreign states (Francie vyšetřuje bombové výhrůžky letadlům. Prověří i vazby na cizí mocnosti – iDNES.cz) (Francie vyšetřuje bombové hrozby letadlům. Prověří vazby na cizí mocnosti – Deník.cz) (Francie vyšetřuje falešné bombové hrozby letům. Chce najít pachatele a prověřit vazby na cizí mocnosti – iROZHLAS). The prosecutor's office said the threats could be linked to foreign powers (Pařížská prokuratura: Hrozby letadlům mohou mít vazby na zahraniční mocnosti – Novinky.cz). The office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, which oversees aviation security, said the probe was already underway to establish where the threats originated.

Flights diverted across the continent

The threats hit dozens of flights on Thursday and Friday in several countries, including France and the Czech Republic. On Thursday, a flight operated by Aer Lingus, travelling from Dublin to Rome, was rerouted to a military base at Évreux in France (Snaží se zasít chaos v Evropě. Jsou za bombovými výhrůžkami letadlům Rusové? – Novinky.cz). On Friday, four aircraft in French airspace were affected: three landed at Paris Orly and one in Bordeaux. Aircraft were diverted, escorted by fighter jets, evacuated or searched. No bomb was ever found.

Czech Republic and Bulgaria affected

In Prague, police said on Thursday that the threat concerned four flights bound for Ruzyně airport (Bombovým hrozbám čelí ve čtvrtek letadla po celé Evropě – Novinky.cz). On Friday, police reported a new warning about explosive devices on several aircraft heading to or leaving Prague, which they described as a repeat of the earlier threat (Letadla na Ruzyni opět přistávají za asistence policie – Novinky.cz) (Policie zasahovala na pražském letišti. Hrozba bombou se týkala devíti letů – Deník.cz). Police said the security measures had a minimal impact on airport operations and that pyrotechnic checks found no explosives or suspicious objects on board. A Romanian outlet reported a Tarom flight from Prague to Bucharest was also targeted. In Bulgaria, three flights were affected on Thursday, and the threats reportedly arrived by email before the planes entered Bulgarian airspace.

Who is behind the emails

The source of the threats has not been established. Bulgarian media reported that security experts suspect Russia or Iran, though no suspect has been named. A Bulgarian cybersecurity specialist said such campaigns could aim to exhaust resources and test how NATO member states respond. Sources in Czech security circles told Novinky that the threats appeared to come from a common source, and that international investigations had not identified any suspect or links to terrorist groups.

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