New bomb threats on aeroplanes: alert on Rome–Lisbon and Rome–Prague flights

A bomb threat on a flight from Rome led to a security operation at Lisbon Airport on Friday morning. The news was reported by CNN Portugal and confirmed by other media outlets. The Ryanair aircraft landed in the Portuguese capital at 8 a.m. The alert was received by the Public Security Police via a telephone call from a law enforcement officer, whose identity was verified by members of the judicial police. The authorities are taking steps to assess and confirm the credibility of the threat.

Another bomb threat has been reported on a Wizzair flight from Prague to Rome. According to reports, the alert regarding a device on board came via an anonymous phone call to the Fiumicino control tower. The flight, which was due to arrive in the capital at 11.00, was diverted to Venice, where it landed. Police are currently carrying out a security sweep. However, four new bomb threats have also been made regarding aircraft flying over French territory. The aircraft landed ‘without incident’ and bomb disposal experts are now ‘carrying out security checks’, the French Prime Minister’s office announced from Matignon. ‘An investigation is underway to determine the source of these threats, which are affecting the whole of Europe’. According to a source familiar with the situation, three of these aircraft landed at Orly and the fourth at Bordeaux.

On Thursday alone, chaos reigned in European airspace, with bomb threats on nineteen flights, eight of which had departed from or were bound for Italy. Over the course of the day, the threats all proved to be unfounded and the aircraft were brought down to land without incident, although some were diverted from their original destinations.

Bomb threats have also been reported against various newspaper and television newsrooms in Ireland, causing broadcasts to be interrupted and staff to be evacuated. The programme Today With David McCullagh on RTÉ Radio One was interrupted this morning and replaced by music, whilst staff gathered outside the buildings on the Donnybrook campus. Staff at other media outlets, including Newstalk Radio, Today FM, Virgin Media and the Irish Independent newspaper, were also evacuated. Radio One’s regular broadcasts resumed at 10:13 a.m., according to The Guardian. The alert came in the form of an email, received before 9 a.m., warning of an explosion within 45 minutes. The police, assisted by sniffer dogs, attended the scene.