Bomb threats spread to newsrooms in Ireland, Bulgaria and Britain as hoaxes against European flights continue

Emailed bomb threats have reached newsrooms in Ireland, Bulgaria and Britain, widening a wave of hoax threats that has disrupted dozens of passenger flights across Europe this week and sent fighter jets to escort airliners.

RTÉ, Ireland’s national broadcaster, evacuated its Dublin campus on Friday morning. RTÉ Director-General Kevin Bakhurst said the email was sent to RTÉ and other news outlets in Ireland and Britain at about 8.33am Irish time (4.33pm AWST). Staff were also cleared from the Irish Independent’s offices and from the building that houses Dublin radio stations Newstalk and Today FM. Bulgaria’s Nova TV and Britain’s Sky said they had received threats as well.

Searches found nothing, and staff at the Irish and Bulgarian outlets were back at work within hours. As of 11.50pm AWST, no explosive device had been found on any aircraft, every affected flight had landed safely, and no arrests had been announced.

What happened inside the newsrooms?

The emails were signed by someone calling himself “Mikhail Andropov”, under the subject line “Message to the West”. The sender claimed to be one of the leaders of the group behind the threats against aircraft, described the week’s threats as a prelude to attacks on transport across Europe, and claimed a bomb had been planted in the building. RTÉ presenter David McCullagh told listeners the threat said a bomb would go off within 45 minutes.

At RTÉ’s campus in Donnybrook, gardaí, including the Armed Response Unit, attended and garda dogs searched the buildings. RTÉ Radio 1 played music in place of its scheduled programs for a time, until McCullagh’s morning program returned to air from a mobile studio at about 10.18am Irish time (6.18pm AWST). Bakhurst described the threat as a disgraceful attack on free media.

Newstalk presenter Claire Byrne had to leave air mid-interview when her building was cleared. Staff there were allowed back in shortly after 10am Irish time. Mediahuis, the publisher of the Irish Independent, said its main Dublin offices were evacuated for a short time while security checks took place.

Virgin Media Television received the same threat but did not evacuate and stayed on air. It described the message as a security threat email that had been widely circulated to multiple European media outlets.

In Bulgaria, Nova TV said the threat arrived by email before noon local time (before 6pm AWST) and claimed that explosives had been planted in its building and in other buildings across Europe. The broadcaster followed its standard emergency procedure and kept television and radio on air, and staff returned to work once authorities had checked the building.

In Britain, Sky said it had carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities. It gave no further details.

Who is behind the threats?

No government or police force has said. Authorities have not established who sent the emails to newsrooms, where they came from, or whether they came from the same source as the threats against flights.

The Irish Government said in a statement on Friday that it “seems likely that this is a co-ordinated campaign of disruption”, while making clear it did not yet know who was responsible. Gardaí said they were aware of a threat against media organisations in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe and that it would be investigated. The Government said gardaí and the Defence Forces were working with European counterparts.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government would work to identify those responsible and hold them to account. Asked whether Russia was involved, he said that was a matter for experts to assess. Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said the threats were the subject of an active Garda investigation and placed them within a wider pattern of “hybrid” attacks across Europe.

Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, said so many incidents with the same method could not be a coincidence, describing them as “hybrid aggression and a form of psychological warfare”.

Threat emails sent to airports in Rome and Milan on Thursday claimed to come from fighters of the “Male State”, an anti-feminist movement that is banned in Russia. Its founder, Russian blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov, said the group no longer exists and had nothing to do with the threats.

Several European governments have accused Russia of sabotage and other hybrid attacks since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Russia denies the accusations. Security analysts have said this week’s threats have the hallmarks of a co-ordinated campaign, but they have not ruled out copycats or individuals acting alone.

How did the wave begin and grow?

The threats began on Monday. A Wizz Air flight from London Luton was diverted to Budapest after a bomb threat was received in the air. Hungary’s Defence Minister, Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, said a Gripen fighter jet escorted it in, and Wizz Air said no threat was found on board.

On Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship were targeted. A LOT Polish Airlines flight from London Heathrow to Warsaw was diverted to Modlin Airport, which closed for a time. Italian Eurofighter jets escorted a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Rome. In Greece, the cruise ship Crown Iris was evacuated in the port of Syros as a precaution. Nothing was found.

Thursday brought a much bigger wave, with at least 27 flights targeted. Fighter jets from Italy, France and Bulgaria were sent up. French jets escorted an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome to the Evreux military air base west of Paris, and a Ryanair flight from London to Sofia was diverted to Plovdiv. Britain’s Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, called the threats malicious hoaxes. The European Union’s Transport Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, said it was too early to say whether the incidents were linked, and he activated an EU mechanism for sharing aviation security information.

The threats against flights continued on Friday. Hungary’s Defence Minister said fighter jets escorted airliners flying from Brussels to Sofia, and from Prague to Bucharest and to Cyprus, through Hungarian airspace because of bomb threats. He said NATO had also ordered an air patrol near the Hungarian-Romanian border.

Czech police registered threats against nine flights to or from Prague, and the airport said none were cancelled. The French Prime Minister’s office said four more aircraft over French territory had been threatened on Friday morning and all had landed safely and been inspected. Copenhagen police said threats aimed at traffic at the city’s airport posed no apparent danger to passengers. A Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome was diverted to Venice, and a Ryanair flight from Rome landed as scheduled in Lisbon after a threat was made against it.

How serious is a hoax threat under the law?

A hoax threat does not need a real bomb to cause harm. Each one this week has set off searches, diversions, evacuations or military escorts. The Irish Government said hoax threats cause fear, distress and disruption to people going about their daily lives.

In Australia, using a phone, email or internet service to make a hoax threat is a federal offence under the Criminal Code. It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and applies in every state and territory. In England and Wales, passing on false information about a bomb is an offence under the Criminal Law Act 1977, with a maximum of seven years in prison.

Any prosecution first depends on identifying the sender, which investigators have not yet done. Eric Schouten, head of the aviation security group Dyami, has said it is very hard to prove that a particular country is behind threats like these.

What does this mean for travellers?

Every affected flight has landed safely. For passengers, the disruption has meant unplanned landings at other airports, long waits while aircraft and luggage are searched, and in some cases a change of plane. On Thursday, LOT moved passengers on a Warsaw to Paris flight to another aircraft, and Aer Lingus said it would rebook customers from its diverted Rome flight to their destinations.

Czech police have said they consider the threats to have low credibility. Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at aviation risk firm Osprey Flight Solutions, has urged travellers not to be alarmed.

What does it mean for Australians?

One incident in Australia has drawn attention this week. On Thursday evening, the Australian Federal Police carried out what it called precautionary searches after threats were sent to an airport just after 6pm AEDT (3pm AWST). Armed officers met an All Nippon Airways flight from Tokyo at Sydney Airport. The aircraft was held in an isolated area of the tarmac for more than an hour, and passengers and their luggage were checked by detector dogs before they could leave. The airport and aircraft were later cleared to resume normal operations. Authorities have not confirmed whether the Sydney threats are linked to those in Europe.

There have been no reports of Australians among passengers on the affected European flights, which have mostly been services within Europe.

As of tonight, Smartraveller had not issued advice specific to the threats. It advises Australians to exercise normal safety precautions in Ireland, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and a high degree of caution in France and the United Kingdom because of the threat of terrorism. Its pages for those countries advise travellers to contact their airline or travel agent to confirm plans when flights are delayed or cancelled, follow the instructions of local authorities, and take out comprehensive travel insurance before leaving.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.