European Intelligence Officials Suspect Russia Behind Hoax Bomb Threats That Disrupted Flights

European intelligence services are investigating whether a wave of hoax bomb threats that disrupted flights across Europe this week originated in Russia, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.

At least 35 flights were targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Eurocontrol, the body that coordinates air traffic in Europe, told the Italian news agency ANSA. The threats forced diversions, emergency landings and fighter-jet escorts, but every aircraft landed safely and searches found no explosives.

According to the Financial Times, some officials in several countries’ intelligence services consider Russia the most likely source of the threats. The working hypothesis is that pro-Kremlin activists or hacking groups produced the messages, the newspaper reported, citing unnamed officials. The report said it was not clear what role, if any, Russian intelligence services played, and no government has formally attributed the threats to Moscow.

Threats spread from flights to newsrooms

The threats began on Tuesday, when around half a dozen flights were affected, and grew to more than two dozen on Thursday, according to the Independent. On Friday, the campaign spread beyond aviation. Ireland’s public broadcaster RTE evacuated its Dublin offices and suspended scheduled programming after receiving an emailed threat, and Bulgaria’s Nova TV received a similar message. Sky News in Britain said it also received a security threat.

The messages to newsrooms were signed with the name “Mikhail Andropov” and headlined “Message to the West,” according to the Independent. The sender claimed responsibility for the week’s aviation threats and described them as the start of attacks on transport across Europe.

A separate email sent on Thursday to the operator of Rome’s airports purported to come from “fighters of the Male State,” a far-right anti-feminist movement banned in Russia. Reuters could not confirm who sent the email. Vladislav Pozdnyakov, the Russian blogger who founded Male State in 2016, said the group no longer existed and was not involved.

One of Friday’s affected flights, a Wizz Air service from Prague to Rome, was diverted to Venice, an Italian airport authority source said.

Officials point to hybrid tactics

European technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen told Reuters on Thursday that Europe has faced a series of hybrid operations since 2022, including sabotage of infrastructure, drone incursions, cyber breaches and election interference.

“We are under attack all the time,” she said. “The reason behind these operations is to destabilise our societies and create mistrust among our citizens.” She added that Russia was “quite often” behind such operations, while noting it was “not always” the case.

Security experts said the threats could be intended to penalize European countries that have supplied arms or funding to Ukraine. They also said it remained possible that individuals were creating false trails, issuing copycat threats or acting on personal grievances.

Eurocontrol said the affected flights were less than 0.05 percent of European air traffic over the three days. Investigations are continuing in several countries.

Reporting based on coverage by the Financial Times, the Independent, Sweden Herald and Reuters.