At least EIGHTEEN flights forced into emergency landings over bomb threats as chaos engulfs Europe's skies

At least 18 planes, including a Ryanair flight from London Stansted, have been forced to make emergency landings over bomb threats across Europe. French and Italian fighter jets were scrambled as chaos continues to reign across the continent's skies. Heathrow and Birmingham Airport were also targeted with bomb threats. Both travel hubs later confirmed the incidents had been resolved. Three flights to Bulgaria, six to Italy, four to Prague, three to Madrid, and one each to Brussels and Vienna have all been grounded or diverted after threats of explosive devices were received. Addressing the travel chaos, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander insisted: “We have some of the most robust aviation security systems of anywhere in the world. We have established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats. This is what these have been. “We do take these threats seriously, but we understand that these have been malicious hoax threats.” It comes as GB News revealed that Russia could be to blame for the threats as part of a “shadow war” campaign against Europe. The London Stansted flight landed at a remote area of Plovdiv Airport for inspection as emergency services rushed to the scene. Evacuated passengers were transported to Sofia by bus. Ryanair Flight FR1730 left Stansted at 6am and was due in Sofia by 9:25am, but was forced to take emergency precautions. Planes travelling from Copenhagen and Madrid to Bulgaria were also affected by the chaos with no bombs being found in any of the three planes. “Upon landing, the necessary inspections were carried out in accordance with the applicable procedures and no issues were identified,” Bulgaria's transport ministry told Reuters. Meanwhile, in Italy, bomb threats hit flights from Helsinki to Rome, Dublin to Rome, Milan to Warsaw, Milan to Bucharest, Thessaloniki to Milan, and Porto to Milan, as fighter jets escorted the planes to new landing sites. Czech police also confirmed that four passenger jets had landed at Prague Airport after similar threats were issued. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS “We are not underestimating the threat, which is why all necessary security measures have been activated with minimal impact on passengers and airport operations… After landing, all aircraft will undergo pyrotechnic inspections.” Officers said they found no explosives on any of the four planes. The British Government also blamed “malicious hoaxes” for earlier scares that grounded planes throughout the week. In Brussels, a plane from Polish carrier Lot, flying from Warsaw, was grounded after a security warning. “Following receipt of information regarding a potential security threat to flight LO235 from Warsaw to Brussels, the flight crew was notified of the situation and conducted an onboard inspection in accordance with established procedures. “No suspicious items were found,” a Lot spokesman said. On Tuesday, seven flights were forced to take emergency measures over bomb threats. The incidents included two flights travelling from the UK, with a LOT Polish Airlines service from London Heathrow to Warsaw diverted to Warsaw-Modlin Airport, where passengers were evacuated and the aircraft searched. Elsewhere, a Scandinavian Airlines service travelling from Copenhagen to Warsaw was searched after an emergency landing. At the same time, three Ryanair flights, from Lisbon and Dublin to Rome, and from Dublin to Sofia, were subjected to security checks. A Wizz Air service from Milan Bergamo to Sofia was also searched after landing in Bulgaria. All seven aircraft landed safely, and authorities found no explosives. On Monday, a Wizz Air flight travelling from London Luton to Sofia was also forced to land over a bomb scare. Over the weekend, an Austrian Airlines flight travelling from Tel Aviv to Vienna was also diverted to Sofia after a similar threat. Follow related topics: