Recently, multiple flights from France, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Austria, Denmark and other countries have received bomb threats, and relevant airports have launched investigations. On the 6th local time, many media organizations in Ireland and the UK also reported receiving bombs or security threats. In addition, a train station in Switzerland was blocked that day due to the discovery of suspicious luggage. Security alerts have occurred in many places in Europe, and relevant departments are investigating the source of the threat. It is still unclear whether the multiple incidents are related. Experts analyzed that although many threatening incidents did not cause substantial damage, the geosecurity and political impact they caused far exceeded the incident itself.
From airliners to media
Security alerts have been sounded in many parts of Europe
Multinational passenger planes receive bomb threats one after another, airport launches investigation
According to the French Prime Minister's Office, four planes flying through French airspace received bomb threats on the 6th, and all landed smoothly in France and underwent safety inspections. Among them, three landed at Paris Orly Airport and one landed at Bordeaux Airport. The French Prime Minister's Office said it has begun investigating the source of these alerts that have affected many European countries.
According to the Bulgarian Ministry of Transport and Communications on the 6th, two planes from London, England and Brussels, Belgium were inspected at Vasillevskiy Airport in Sofia after receiving bomb threat emails, but no suspicious items were found.
According to Danish news, the Copenhagen police in Denmark received a new report involving an air traffic threat on the 6th, and then sent officers to Copenhagen Airport again to investigate. The police initially determined that the incident did not pose a danger to passengers or other people at the airport.
According to news from the Czech Republic on the 6th, a spokesman for Prague Airport said that 9 flights in and out of the airport received bomb threats, including 4 inbound flights and 5 outbound flights. Later that day, the police conducted an EOD inspection and found no explosive devices, and airport operations subsequently resumed full operations.
According to Austrian news on the 5th, Vienna Airport received an email that day containing vague threats against four flights. The police in the Austrian state of Lower Austria stated on the 6th that the investigation related to the threatening emails is the responsibility of the state’s national security and counter-extremism department. It is reported that the relevant departments did not disclose more details, partly because of concerns about copycat crimes.
Several media organizations in Ireland and the UK have received security threats
On the 6th, Ireland's National Radio and Television Corporation, Ball Media Group, and Virgin Media Group all received bomb threats and evacuated their offices. Affected by the incident, some radio programs were temporarily suspended. The Irish police issued a statement saying that the police have been informed of threats against media organizations in Ireland and other parts of Europe, are in contact with relevant media organizations in Ireland, and will investigate the incident.
A reporter from Ireland's National Radio and Television read out an excerpt of the threatening email during the live broadcast - "The threatening email claimed that the sender was the organization behind a series of bomb threats to flights in Europe this week. However, the excerpt read by the reporter during the live broadcast did not name the organization."
The British Sky News Channel also stated on the 6th that several media including this media had received security threats. A spokesman for Sky News said the media had conducted a security assessment on the matter and reported it to relevant authorities.
Suspicious luggage found at Swiss train station, train service suspended
On the evening of the 6th local time, Schaffhausen Railway Station and surrounding areas in Switzerland were blocked due to the discovery of suspicious luggage. Swiss Federal Railways said train services through Schaffhausen had been suspended.
The local police said that it was not yet possible to confirm whether the luggage posed a danger, and the duration of the relevant operations was also uncertain.
Multiple parties in Europe launch investigation
The source of the threat has not yet been determined
In response to the successive security threats in Europe, officials and aviation agencies from many countries have responded to introduce investigation progress and security response measures.
Officials from many European countries: There is no evidence pointing to the responsible party
When Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Callas in Lisbon on the 5th, he commented on the bomb threats encountered by European flights. He said that the threat of "hybrid war" faced by Europe continues to intensify, and the EU and NATO must be prepared to respond. The impact of such threats extends beyond the military realm and requires the use of military and other means to deal with them.
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security David van Wel said on the 6th that it was still unclear who issued the bomb threat involving multiple aircraft in Europe on the 5th. Because threats are made anonymously, tracing the source is difficult. There is currently no indication that these false bomb threats were made by a state actor, but nothing has been ruled out.
The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website published an article on the 6th that Italian Foreign Minister Tajani said that Italy is taking necessary response measures with its European allies, but for this latest round of bomb warnings, it has not yet obtained evidence of the responsible party.
EU: It’s too early to tell whether multiple aviation threats in Europe are related
In response to bomb threats to multiple passenger planes in Europe, the European Commission stated on the 5th that it is too early to draw conclusions on whether the reported incidents are related, and relevant departments in various countries are still conducting investigations.
European Commission Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Zizikostas made the same statement at a press conference held in the Irish capital Dublin on the same day. He said that the EU has launched an aviation security information sharing mechanism. It is too early to draw conclusions on whether these incidents are related, and there is no information to judge whether these incidents involve cyber attacks.
Protracted confrontation between Russia and Europe
European security nerves are getting tighter
Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that although this large-scale bomb threat to European civil aviation did not cause substantial damage, the geosecurity and political impact it caused far exceeded the incident itself.
Zhang Hong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: The current geopolitical landscape in Europe is highly tense, and Russia and Europe are in a state of comprehensive strategic confrontation. In this confrontational atmosphere, if there is any change in the fields of aviation safety and public security in Europe, European public opinion and security agencies will instinctively interpret it within the framework of Russia-Ukraine hybrid confrontation and Russia-Europe non-traditional security game. This high sensitivity of "no wind makes waves" is not simply a subjective guess, but the inevitable result of the long-term strategic confrontation and continuous accumulation of games between Russia and Europe.
Zhang Hong: Even though there is currently no evidence to prove that the false bomb threat is directly related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this just shows that the spillover effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict have made the security situation in Europe more complicated. The impact of the conflict is no longer limited to the battlefields on the Russian-Ukrainian frontline. It has created a highly sensitive security environment. Any independent security disturbance in the European public domain can easily be linked to major power confrontation and hybrid warfare.
Zhang Hong: This uncertainty itself is a manifestation of complexity. On the one hand, various non-traditional security incentives are diverse. They may be personal pranks, or they may be the work of independent cybercriminal groups. They may not be actively operated by Russia and Ukraine. But on the other hand, the extremely low strategic mutual trust between Russia and Europe amplified the geopolitical impact of the incident. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between ordinary security incidents and hybrid confrontational actions derived from conflicts, and security boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred. This also means that the spillover risks of the Russia-Ukraine conflict have spread. Low-intensity, difficult-to-traceive disturbances will continue to entangle the European security environment, further increasing the difficulty of managing public security crises in Europe.
Producer丨Zheng Hong
Producer | Wen Fan
Editor-in-Chief丨Wang Yao
Editor丨Mo Yaxuan
Reporters丨Yi Xin Wang Jingxiu Chen Lincong Yang Mingjiao Song Liang Bu Weijun Li Yaoyang
