A new wave of bomb threats disrupted passenger flights across Europe on 5 November, including three Ryanair services bound for Sofia. Two aircraft, arriving from Copenhagen and Madrid, landed in the Bulgarian capital. A service from London Stansted was diverted to Plovdiv.
Security procedures were activated and the aircraft were checked. Reports on the completed inspections said no explosive devices had been found. A threat message and a confirmed explosive device are different things; the precautionary response does not establish that a bomb was on board.
Bulgaria and the wider disruption
Bulgarian MiG-29 crews took off from Graf Ignatievo air base at 10:11 to intercept and escort civilian aircraft. The defence information service confirmed that one aircraft landed in Plovdiv and two in Sofia.
Other alerts affected flights elsewhere in Europe. An Aer Lingus service from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Évreux in France. A Wizz Air aircraft arriving in Bucharest from Milan was also inspected; Romanian bomb-disposal checks did not confirm the threat.
What passengers need to distinguish
The incidents follow similar alerts earlier in the week. The reviewed information does not establish a common perpetrator or a confirmed link between every threat. Treating the cases as one proven operation would go beyond what has been announced.
For travellers, disruption can continue after an aircraft has landed safely because checks, ground handling and onward arrangements take time. The status of a particular booking depends on the carrier’s latest instructions and the departure and arrival airports. The central confirmed picture is a series of security alerts and precautionary responses, with no explosives reported in the completed checks cited here.
