Two Ryanair planes searched after landing in Rome as suspected bomb threats hit series of flights

A string of coordinated suspected bomb threats targeting commercial Ryanair flights triggered widespread security operations across multiple European nations this week, with two of the affected aircraft subjected to full on-ground searches immediately after touching down in Rome. According to BBC Europe correspondent on the ground, the Ryanair service that departed Dublin for the Italian capital was even escorted through Italian airspace by fighter jets from the Italian Air Force as a precautionary measure before it landed safely at Rome’s airport. The Rome operations are part of a broader wave of disruptions that unfolded across four additional European airports in the past 48 hours. Two separate flights were fully inspected by counter-terrorism security teams after landing in Warsaw, Poland, one of which had originated from London Heathrow Airport in the UK. A third Ryanair flight that took off from Manchester, England, was diverted and landed in Murcia, Spain, where local law enforcement and bomb disposal units carried out a meticulous sweep of the entire aircraft. A regional Murcia public safety official confirmed to reporters that no explosive devices or suspicious hazardous materials were uncovered during the full inspection. A passenger who was on board the Manchester-Murcia flight shared their experience with the BBC, stating, “We landed normally in Murcia as scheduled, and within minutes we saw the full bomb squad convoy pull up alongside the aircraft, and we were all instructed to disembark in an orderly fashion for additional security checks.” The sequence of threats began earlier on Monday, when a Ryanair flight traveling from London Luton Airport to Sofia, Bulgaria, received a bomb threat mid-flight, prompting the flight crew to declare an emergency and divert the aircraft for an unscheduled emergency landing in Budapest, Hungary. As of press time, no group has claimed responsibility for the wave of threats, and national aviation security agencies across the EU are collaborating to trace the origin of the hoax communications that targeted the multiple flights. All affected passengers have been safely processed and re-accommodated on alternate travel arrangements, with no reported injuries across any of the disrupted incidents.