Suspected bomb threats forced emergency landings across Europe for a third straight day on Tuesday, targeting at least seven flights and a cruise ship with no explosives found .
The threats, delivered via anonymous emails, disrupted airports in Poland, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Greece . Authorities briefly closed Warsaw's Modlin airport and scrambled fighter jets in Rome and Budapest to escort threatened planes . All aircraft landed safely, and searches found no devices .
In Warsaw, a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737 MAX from London Heathrow was diverted to Modlin airport at 10:01 a.m. after a threat . The plane carried 181 passengers. The airport closed briefly for inspection. An SAS flight from Copenhagen landed at Warsaw's Chopin airport at 9:28 a.m. and was searched .
Italian Air Force jets escorted a Ryanair flight from Dublin as it landed at Rome-Fiumicino at 10:45 a.m. . Another Ryanair plane from Lisbon arrived at 9:40 a.m. and underwent anti-bomb procedures. In Spain, a Ryanair flight from Manchester carrying 114 passengers and seven crew landed at Murcia at 10:50 a.m. and was inspected by TEDAX specialists .
In Bulgaria, a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo with 176 passengers and a Ryanair flight from Dublin with 186 passengers both landed in Sofia and were searched . In Greece, police inspected the Crown Iris cruise ship near the island of Syros after a caller claimed a device was attached to its hull . The vessel, bound for Israel, carried more than 1,500 passengers .
The Tuesday incidents followed a similar threat on Monday against a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia . The plane was diverted to Budapest and escorted by Hungarian Gripen fighter jets. No group has claimed responsibility for any of the threats .
Matthew Borie, co-founder of Osprey Flight Solutions, which advises airlines on flight threats, offered several hypotheses for the unexplained incidents . "A single threat triggers copycat incidents; an individual or a group makes multiple threats; or operations of 'hybrid warfare' by state actors or their supporters," he said. He noted the focus on Europe means "there could be a Russian angle," but added that "Iranian hybrid warfare is just as active in certain pockets of Europe as well."
London's Metropolitan Police confirmed it was made aware of threats against four aircraft due to depart from or arrive at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday . The force said checks found "no security issues were identified."
