> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Someone Is Now Claiming Europe's Plane Bomb Hoaxes, and Says It's "Only the Beginning" - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/europe-flight-bomb-threats-diverted/ - Published: 2026-11-06T21:09:24.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-08T00:08:49.000Z - Description: Emails sent to TV stations Friday claimed to come from the group behind this week's fake bomb threats on flights. Here's what we know about who's behind it and what you're owed. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News, Breaking News Someone is now claiming responsibility for Europe's wave of fake bomb threats on flights. On Friday, emails sent to TV stations including Ireland's RTÉ, Britain's Sky and Bulgaria's Nova TV claimed to come from the leader of “a group responsible for this week's plane hoaxes” and warned that “this is only the beginning,” according to Reuters. It's unclear who really sent them. The claim came hours after a third wave of hoax threats hit flights in Prague, France and Copenhagen, following at least 27 flights on Thursday. Fighter planes have escorted some of the planes in, but no bombs have been found and no one has been hurt. ## Latest Updates **Saturday, Nov. 7, 7:10 p.m. ET:** French prosecutors have opened an investigation into this week's fake bomb threats on flights. The Paris prosecutor's office says it's trying to identify who sent the emails and whether they have links to foreign governments. No one has been publicly named. **Saturday, Nov. 7, 10:15 a.m. ET:** Dutch military police arrested a 45-year-old Czech man at a gate at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on Thursday evening after he allegedly made a spoken bomb threat about his flight to Prague, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS. The plane left with a delay, and the man was released Friday. It's not yet clear whether he'll be charged, and authorities haven't linked him to the wider wave of hoax threats. **Friday, Nov. 6, 3:15 p.m. ET:** Someone is now claiming responsibility for this week's plane hoaxes. Emails sent Friday to broadcasters including Ireland's RTÉ, Britain's Sky and Bulgaria's Nova TV warned that a bomb would go off in 45 minutes and that "the clock is ticking," according to Reuters. The emails claimed to come from the leader of "a group responsible for this week's plane hoaxes," were signed "Mikhail Andropov," which shares a surname with a former Soviet leader, and said, "this is only the beginning." No bombs were found. Reuters says it's unclear who sent them or whether the name points to Russia or is meant to implicate it. Ireland's prime minister said security agencies haven't determined whether the threats are coordinated. **Friday, Nov. 6, 8:30 a.m. ET:** A third wave of hoax threats hit Europe on Friday, and this time it reached beyond planes. Prague Airport said threats targeted nine flights, four arriving and five leaving, but nothing was found and none were canceled or diverted. France says four more planes over its territory got threats and all landed safely, a Wizz Air flight from Prague to Rome reportedly diverted to Venice, and Danish police are investigating threats aimed at Copenhagen Airport, which says it's running normally. Broadcasters in Ireland and the UK reportedly received threats too, including RTÉ and Sky. Spain's foreign minister called it a likely "attempt at hybrid aggression," and Irish security services reportedly see Russian involvement as "credible." No country has officially blamed anyone. **Thursday, Nov. 5, 10:30 p.m. ET:** The scare has reached Australia. Armed Australian Federal Police officers met All Nippon Airways flight NH899 from Tokyo when it landed in Sydney around 8 p.m. Thursday local time, after police said threats were sent to an airport. A detection dog checked passengers' bags, and travelers were held on board for about an hour and a half, according to ABC News in Australia. Police haven't said whether it's connected to the threats in Europe, and nothing has been reported found. [Read the full story on the Sydney search](https://www.thecontrail.org/sydney-airport-threat-ana-flight/). **Thursday, Nov. 5, 8:45 p.m. ET:** Britain's transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, called Thursday's wave "malicious hoax threats," and the EU has switched on its system for sharing aviation security information between countries. EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it's "too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are linked." Flights were affected in at least eight countries, including France, Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Austria, Belgium and the Czech Republic, where police searched four planes that landed in Prague and found nothing. In France, prosecutors have now questioned both the pilot and co-pilot of the diverted Aer Lingus flight. No arrests have been reported. **Thursday, Nov. 5, 4:45 p.m. ET:** French prosecutors have opened an investigation into the Irish captain of the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome, who allegedly refused an order to land at the Évreux air base and asked for a civilian airport instead. Two fighter planes escorted the plane in anyway. The pilot is being questioned in a voluntary interview, and the prosecutor will decide later whether to take him into custody. The 157 people on board were bused to a gym on the base. Separately, the EU says it's "too early" to say whether this week's threats are linked. **Thursday, Nov. 5, 11:05 a.m. ET:** An email allegedly sent by a Russian far-right group called Male State has claimed at least two of Thursday's threats, according to Italian media. The email went to three Italian airports, named the Finnair flight from Helsinki and the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin, both headed to Rome, and said the group would "turn the skies red." Male State is an online movement known for misogynist and extremist posts, not a hacking group, and Russia reportedly banned it as extremist in 2023\. No government has confirmed the email is genuine. The count has also climbed to at least 27 flights, according to Reuters. **Thursday, Nov. 5, 10:50 a.m. ET:** IATA, the trade group that represents most of the world's airlines, has condemned the threats. "We condemn these attempts to disrupt air transport. Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously," said Nick Careen, IATA's senior vice president for operations, safety and security. "We urge the authorities to find the origins of these hoax threats. Meanwhile passengers should be assured that aviation security measures will continue to ensure the highest levels of public safety." **Thursday, Nov. 5, 9:20 a.m. ET:** The count has climbed to at least 25 flights, according to Reuters, and the threats have now reached Spain, Poland and Denmark. Spain's Guardia Civil said three emailed threats arrived within 20 minutes starting around 4 a.m. ET, involving two Air Europa flights from Madrid to Paris and four Iberia flights arriving from Rome and Milan. Those planes were stopped or sent back to the gate, and passengers got off while they were searched. In Warsaw, a LOT flight to Paris was stopped while taxiing for takeoff and passengers were moved to another plane. In Copenhagen, a military bomb disposal unit searched two planes and found nothing. The British government called the threats "malicious hoax threats," and Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith said he'd never seen threats reported in such a coordinated way. Still no bombs, no arrests and no one blamed. **Thursday, Nov. 5, 7:45 a.m. ET:** Added more flights, including fighter escorts and two landings at Milan Malpensa. The planes involved were scattered across the continent. French fighters guided an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome to Évreux, a military air base about 60 miles west of Paris. The French prime minister's office reportedly said it sent the fighters after the pilot "did not cooperate with authorities as expected," without saying why. Bulgaria's air force escorted three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia from Madrid, Copenhagen and London Stansted. Two landed in Sofia and the third diverted to Plovdiv. Italian fighter planes escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki into Rome, where the airport paused flights for about 30 minutes. The list kept growing through the morning. LOT flight LO235 from Warsaw landed in Brussels, where security found nothing. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was rerouted to Vienna, and another Finnair flight landed in Vienna after a threat. Four planes headed to Prague got threats that Czech police called low credibility, though they said they weren't "underestimating the threat." At Milan Malpensa, bomb disposal teams checked an Aegean Airlines flight from Thessaloniki and a Ryanair flight from Porto after both landed safely. It's the second big wave in three days. [On Tuesday](https://www.thecontrail.org/ryanair-bomb-threat-manchester-murcia/), at least seven flights and a cruise ship got threats, and those were all hoaxes too. Europe · Week of Nov. 2 Two Waves of Bomb Hoaxes in Three Days 7+ Flights threatened Tuesday 27+ Flights threatened Thursday 0 Bombs found If your flight is diverted, the airline owes you **meals, a hotel if you're stuck overnight and a new flight or refund**. Security threats don't qualify for EU261 cash payouts. Sources: police and airline statements, news reportsContrail --- ## Who's Behind It? For the first time this week, someone has allegedly claimed responsibility. Italian media published an email allegedly sent by "fighters of the Male State" to three Italian airports. It named the Finnair flight from Helsinki and the Aer Lingus flight from Dublin, both headed to Rome, and said the group would "turn the skies red" because of what it called a "feminist regime." Male State is a Russian far-right online movement known for misogynist and extremist posts, and it reportedly now calls itself Male Legion. It isn't a hacking group or part of the Russian government, and Russia's own courts reportedly banned it as extremist in 2023\. Nobody has confirmed the email is real, and even if it is, it only covers two of the 27 flights. Who sent the rest is still anyone's guess. No government has blamed anyone for this wave. Several of the threats came in by email from anonymous addresses. European officials have accused Russia and Iran of running "hybrid attacks" across the continent this year, meaning cheap, deniable disruption like sabotage and cyberattacks. Both countries deny it. Some experts have pointed out that hackers also shut down supermarket fridges in several European countries this week, and say the flight threats could fit the same pattern. What's clear is that a hoax doesn't have to be real to work. A single threatening message can send a plane full of people to the wrong airport and tie up police, crews and air traffic control for hours. --- ## What Happens If Your Flight Gets a Threat Airlines take every threat seriously, even ones that look fake, because they can't afford to guess wrong. If a threat comes in mid-flight, the pilots usually head for the nearest suitable airport, which isn't always a big one. That's how a Dublin to Rome flight ended up at a French military base with fighter planes alongside it. After landing, the plane is usually parked away from the terminal. Passengers get off, often with their carry-ons, and go through security again while police and sniffer dogs search the plane and the checked bags. Depending on the airport, that can take anywhere from a couple of hours to most of the day. It's slow and frustrating, but it's the system working exactly as designed. If you're on board, the best thing you can do is follow the crew's instructions and keep your phone charged. Your airline's app is usually the fastest way to find out when you'll be moving again. ## Know Before You Fly When something shakes up air travel, we tell you what it means for your trip. Free in your inbox. Get Contrail Free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ## What You're Owed This is where it gets a little disappointing. Under Europe's flight compensation rules, known as EU261, a security threat counts as an "extraordinary circumstance," just like bad weather. So you almost certainly won't get the cash payment that EU261 offers for long delays. You're still owed care, though. If you're stuck waiting, the airline has to give you food and drinks, a way to make calls or send messages, and a hotel plus transport if you're stranded overnight. If your trip is canceled, you get the choice of a refund or a new flight to your destination. Keep your receipts if you end up paying for anything yourself, since you can claim it back. If you were flying from the US on a European airline, or from Europe on any airline, those same EU rules apply. --- ## Should You Worry About Flying to Europe? No. Every threat this week has been a hoax, and the response, from fighter escorts to full searches, shows how seriously airlines and governments are treating them. The real risk to your trip right now is a delay, not your safety. If you're flying within Europe in the next few days, give yourself some extra time for connections and keep an eye on your airline's app. Hoaxes tend to come in waves, and this one may not be over.