Multiple planes diverted as bomb threats to commercial flights reported across Europe – live

And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.

• Hoax bomb threats have caused disruption to at least 25 flights across Europe (latest tally 11:01), renewing questions about a possibly coordinated effort to disrupt travel.

• At least 32 flights have been disrupted this week in total, with all incidents confirmed to be false alarms.

• There is no intelligence yet pointing to any particular group or state actor, such as Russia or Iran, amid worries over hybrid incidents targeting Europe (15:57).

• But local reports in Bulgaria and Italy said the emails were signed “the fighters of the Male State,†drawing concerns about possible Russia links (18:45).

• Italian defence minister Guido Crosetto described the incidents as fitting the pattern of “warfare below the threshold,†making it difficult to attribute responsibility.

• One of the pilots affected by today's events was being questioned by the French authorities after reportedly declining to land at a military airport (17:18), with Aer Lingus saying they are “aware of the matter and will of course cooperate with the French authorities.â€

• Global airlines body Iata has “condemned … attempts to interrupt air transport,†urging the relevant authorities to “find the origins of these hoax threats†(16:52).

• Affected flights accounted only for a tiny fraction of all 27,400 flights were scheduled in Europe today, according to the European air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol (17:24).

If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.

I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.

Male State is a Russian far-right, ultranationalist and misogynistic movement founded in 2016 by Vladislav Pozdnyakov, initially as an online community on the social network VKontakte.

Its supporters became known for coordinating harassment campaigns against women, LGBTQ+ people and businesses that had spoken out against discrimination.

In October 2021, the Nizhny Novgorod regional court designated Male State an extremist organisation and banned its activities in Russia.

Pozdnyakov has continued to publish far-right material online and is a prominent supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine.

On his Telegram channel, Pozdnyakov has neither commented on nor claimed responsibility for the bomb threats.

After reports from Bulgaria (17:37) and Italy (14:38) alleging links with the “Fighters of the Male State,†let's cross to our Russia expert Pjotr Sauer for a quick explanation on the group – with big caveats that we do not really know for sure if they are involved or not.

A separate Ryanair flight from Pescara in Italy to Brussels Charleroi had to inspected after the word “bomb†was discovered scrawled on the walls of its onboard lavatory.

The airport confirmed the incident to Belgian newspaper Le Soir and broadcaster RTBF, saying a detailed inspection of all luggage and passengers confirmed no threat.

Here's a handy map showing some of the affected flights from our visuals department.

The full list of all affected flights today is pinned at the top here.

Two aircraft were inspected at Copenhagen Airport this morning after authorities received emailed threats against them, Danish media reported, without providing details about the flights.

Both planes were later cleared to fly after investigators confirmed there was no threat, according to broadcasters DR and TV2.

A Ryanair flight from London Stansted to Cork airport was also held up on arrival in Ireland this morning after a false bomb threat.

A Cork airport spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian the airport received “an anonymous threat by phone this morning in relation to a specific flight.â€

“Elevated additional secutity measures were adopted in conjunction with An Garda Síochána. Nothing of concern was identified and the flight resumed operations with a 90-minute delay. The incident has been fully stood down.â€

The airport did not identify the flight, but it was named in Irish media as FR901 from London Stansted, which experienced a delay meeting the airport's description.

This brings today's total up to 22 and 30 for this week.

A second LOT Polish Airlines flight – this time LO331 from Warsaw OkÄ™cie to Paris – was also caught up in today's false bomb alerts.

Following an anonymous report, the plane was forced to stay in Warsaw for additional checks, which showed no reason for concern.

It eventually departed just over four hours late and landed safely in Paris in the early afternoon, the Guardian confirmed.

An email sent to Sofia airport during a series of hoax alerts across Europe today was signed “the fighters of the Male State,†AFP reported.

The email read:

“We, the fighters of the Male State, will make history with our actions today. Your feminist regime will remember this forever. The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today, your skies will turn red.â€

As reported earlier (14:38), similar messages were also sent to Italian airports.

While 20 false bomb threats across Europe will certainly raise concern, it is worth keeping in mind that this is just a fraction of the overall number of planes flying across the continent every day.

Some 27,400 flights were scheduled in Europe today, according to the European air traffic control agency, Eurocontrol.

The pilot of an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome that diverted to Évreux following a bomb threat (9:55, 10:07, 10:25) is being questioned by French authorities for initially refusing to land at a military base, according to media reports in France.

AFP, France24, Le Figaro and TF1 said that the pilot reportedly insisted on landing at a civilian airport, such as Beauvais or Nantes, prompting the French air force to intercept the plane with fighter jets.

He will now be “questioned under caution,†local public prosecutor Rémi Coutin told AFP.

Aer Lingus has been approached for comment.

If you are only just joining us and what to catch up on what's on earth is going on, here is our explainer on what do we know (and what we don't) so far.

The four flights affected at Prague airport can now be confirmed as inbound flights from Athens, Dublin, Glasgow and Newcastle (11:16, 11:58).

A spokesperson for the Prague airport, Jiří Hannich, told the Guardian that “an anonymous threat was received concerning the possible presence of explosive devices on board selected flights†arriving to Prague.

“In accordance with the Airport Emergency Plan, the Security Operations Command Center was activated under the direction of the Police of the Czech Republic.

The aircraft landed safely in Prague and were directed to remote stands.

Following their arrival, the Police of the Czech Republic conducted security searches of the aircraft for explosives, all with negative results. All passengers safely disembarked from the aircraft and received their baggage once all necessary security measures had been completed.

The situation had no significant impact on other airport operations. The threat is currently under police investigation. For this reason, we are not in a position to provide any further details.â€

Global airlines body Iata has “condemned … attempts to interrupt air transport,†urging the relevant authorities to “find the origins of these hoax threats.â€

“Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously,†Iata's senior vicepresident for operations, safety and security, Nick Careen said in a statement.

“Meanwhile passengers should be assured that aviation security measures will continue to ensure the highest levels of public safety,†he added.

Austrian defence ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer has confirmed that all affected flights in Austrian airspace were escorted by Eurofighters jets.

In a handy explainer, he said:

“What the Eurofighters can achieve in this scenario: They can observe the situation on site as the sole eyewitness and report any possible deviation from the flight path if the pilot has no radio connection.

If the aircraft is damaged but remains airworthy, the EF pilot can inspect the damage and provide assistance with information about the condition. Through visual contact with the pilot, they can at least support them in any case.â€

In a separate post, he confirmed there were three affected flights, which checks out with our tally (11:01).