Heathrow and Birmingham airports received bomb threats today that were assessed as not credible, as a hoax campaign disrupted flights across Europe for a second day running.
Operations continued as normal at both airports. At least a dozen flights were targeted with bomb threats on Thursday, including services from Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said a small number of flights had been disrupted and described the threats as malicious hoaxes. “We do have some of the most robust aviation security systems anywhere in the world and we have established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats, and that’s what these threats have been,” she said.
A UK government spokesperson said threats reported in the early hours of Thursday had been resolved, and that the Metropolitan Police’s Aviation Policing Command was monitoring the situation.
Airlines caught up in today’s alerts
Finnair said two flights from Helsinki faced unfounded or hoax bomb threats — one to Rome and the other to Vienna. Both landed at their destinations and passengers disembarked safely. Nothing unusual was found when the Rome aircraft was inspected, while checks on the Vienna aircraft were continuing. There were 144 passengers and seven crew on the Rome flight, and 177 passengers and six crew on the Vienna flight.
Wizz Air said two flights from Milan were targeted. One landed as planned in Bucharest, while a Warsaw-bound service was diverted to Vienna and landed safely.
The French prime minister’s office said the Dublin to Rome aircraft that diverted to Evreux air base was carrying 151 passengers and six crew, who were all brought to safety while bomb disposal teams intervened. Aer Lingus said the flight landed safely and the airline would work to reaccommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible.
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “The safety and security of customers and colleagues is always our highest priority. In line with UK aviation security standards, processes were immediately initiated in conjunction with emergency services and partners.”
How threats are assessed
Joji Waites, director of flight safety, policy and regulation at the British Airline Pilots’ Association, said threats are assessed as red, amber or green according to their credibility. “Usually, if a plane is still on the tarmac, that will mean an evacuation, and if it is in the air, the priority will be to land the plane as soon and as safely as possible,” he said.
Today’s alerts follow a fresh wave of hoaxes this morning that saw a Stansted–Sofia Ryanair flight diverted to Plovdiv, and a similar wave on Tuesday that hit seven flights, including departures from Heathrow and Manchester. No explosives have been found on any of the aircraft searched.
Passengers flying from London airports are being advised to check the status of their flight before travelling and to follow official airline updates.
