Two flights from British airports have been evacuated with an hour of each other after six planes across Europe faced bomb threats.
A Ryanair flight from Manchester was met by police and bomb disposal units just an hour after a plane from London was forced to make an emergency landing in Poland over reports of a bomb on board.
Two other Ryanair flights, from Portugal and Ireland, also received reports of explosives en route to Italy, while one plane from Israel had a bomb threat before landing in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The Manchester jet was evacuated with 114 passengers on board after landing at Murcia Airport at 10.50am local time (9.50am in the UK).
The Government Delegate for the Region, Francisco Lucas, said on X that this was due to a ‘bomb threat’ and that the aircraft was being inspected.
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An hour earlier, a Polish Airlines flight from Heathrow with 181 passengers was diverted to Warsaw-Modlin airport due to information about an explosive device on board.
Passengers were evacuated, with security services finding no suspicious items.
The flight LO286 was due to land at Warsaw Chopin Airport before a bomb threat was received at 9.54am local time (8.54am in the UK).
Seven minutes later, at 10.01am local time, the Boeing 737 MAX landed at Warsaw-Modlin Airport with approximately 3.7 tonnes of fuel remaining.
The London plane was forced to divert because Chopin airport was already dealing with a separate bomb scare which forced one of their runways to close.
A report emerged of a bomb on board a Scandinavian Airlines flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw.
The flight SK751 landed at Chopin Airport and was evacuated before bomb disposal operations began.
A plane flying from Israel made an emergency landing in Sofia after a bomb threat was received by email.
Two Ryanair flights – from Portugal and Ireland – also received reports of an explosive on board which turned out to be false.
Both jets were escorted into Rome Fiumicino airport by the Italian Air Force.
Warsaw-Modlin airport, which was closed until 1pm local time, said in a statement: ‘Following landing, the aircraft was directed to a designated area, where it remains pending further decisions and instructions from the relevant authorities, including bomb disposal teams.’
Polish Airlines said they were ‘notified by airport authorities’ of the potential security threat on board.
They added in a statement: ‘The aircraft was diverted to Warsaw Modlin Airport, where it landed and subsequently taxied to a designated parking stand.
‘Relevant authorities are assessing the situation in accordance with established security procedures.’
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