New wave of hoax bomb threats hits flights in Europe, three linked to Barajas

Flights from at least ten European countries, including Spain, have received hoax bomb threats on two days this week, El Español reported on Friday. The newspaper says 27 incidents were investigated on Thursday and that some planes had to make unscheduled landings and others were escorted by military fighter jets.

According to sources at Aena, Spain's airport operator, cited by the newspaper, three flights linked to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport, two operated by Iberia and one by Air Europa, received threats on Thursday: one bound for Paris and two arriving from Rome and Milan. The same outlet reports that an Aer Lingus plane flying between Dublin and Rome landed at the French military base of Évreux, as confirmed by the French prime minister's office, and that a Finnair flight was escorted by the Italian Air Force to Fiumicino, according to the Ansa agency.

Another series of warnings had already occurred on Tuesday. According to AP and EFE information published by El Nuevo Día, two Ryanair flights landed at Rome-Fiumicino after threats sent by email, a LOT flight was diverted to Modlin airport, which closed temporarily, and a Ryanair flight from Manchester landed in Murcia, where the central government's delegate, Francisco Lucas, ruled out the presence of explosives. No explosives were found in any of the inspections.

According to El Español, no one has claimed responsibility for the threats and no affected country has attributed them to a government or a group. There is no published evidence linking them to the cyberattacks in Europe in recent weeks.

Developing story: Thursday's figures (27 incidents and the three Barajas flights) come from a single outlet, which cites Aena sources without a public statement; confirmation from Aena, the airlines or aviation authorities and an official count of the total number of threats are still needed.