A fresh wave of hoax bomb threats disrupted at least 18 more flights across Europe on Friday, November 6, 2026, the third wave in a single week. It pushed the weekly total past 50 flight-related threats. Every aircraft landed safely, security searches found no explosive devices, and nobody was hurt. The threats reached flights to or from nine countries, forced fighter jets into the air over Hungary, and disrupted four flights at Madrid Airport. Investigators say there is no evidence so far that a terror group or a state actor is behind the hoaxes, but inquiries are still open.
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Date | Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Flights affected on Friday | At least 18 |
| Countries affected on Friday | Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom |
| Explosive devices found | None. Security searches found no bombs or other explosive devices. |
| People hurt | None reported |
| Flights diverted during the week | Five in total |
| Weekly total | Past 50 flight-related threats |
| Scheduled flights across Europe on Friday | 26,709, according to Eurocontrol |
| Share of Friday flights affected | About 0.07 percent |
| Who is blamed so far | No group or state actor has been identified. Investigations are continuing. |
What happened on Friday
Friday brought a new round of bomb threats against civil aviation across Europe, disrupting at least 18 flights, according to The Guardian. The alerts reached flights travelling to or from nine countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom. Most planes kept flying to their planned destinations and were searched after landing. Only a small number were diverted, and through the whole week only five flights diverted in total.
Prague was hit hardest, with at least nine flights involving the Czech capital affected. Four flights over France also received threats, along with two flights travelling towards Sofia and a Lisbon to Rome service. The spread shows this was not a problem at one airport or on one airline. The threats landed across the map in a single day, from Portugal in the west to Romania in the east.
Madrid Airport received another threat on Friday morning, affecting four flights. Madrid had already been caught up in the earlier waves, and the same airports and routes keep appearing, which suggests the senders are working from a list and returning to it. Despite the scale, the safety record held. Every aircraft landed safely, no explosives were found, and nobody was hurt.
A week of threats, day by day
The Friday wave was the third of the week. On Monday, November 2, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest after a threat. It looked like an isolated scare. By Tuesday, November 3, the picture had changed: at least seven flights and a cruise ship received threats, showing the senders were not focused only on aviation.
Wednesday was quiet, with no major wave reported, which gave airports and airlines a brief pause. Then Thursday, November 5, brought the biggest day so far, with at least 19 to 25 flights diverted or searched. Our earlier report on the Thursday wave that saw up to 25 flights diverted or searched covers that day in full detail.
Friday added at least 18 more, taking the weekly total past 50. The Guardian separately reported that at least 32 threats affected a dozen airlines within four days. Both figures point the same way: this was a sustained campaign across several days, not a single bad afternoon. For scale, Eurocontrol recorded 26,709 scheduled flights across Europe on Friday, so the 18 affected flights were about 0.07 percent of the total. Each threat still forces a security response, delays passengers, and costs airlines money.
Fighter jets and airport security
Hungary gave the clearest picture of how seriously governments are taking the threats. Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said fighter jets had been scrambled three times to escort civilian aircraft through Hungarian airspace. That is not a routine step. It is a military response to a civilian threat, and the jets flew alongside passenger planes to guard them while they crossed Hungarian skies.
For the airlines, the cost goes beyond the delay. A searched plane misses its next flight, crews run out of legal working hours, and passengers need rebooking, meals and sometimes hotel rooms. The senders do not need a bomb to cause damage. The disruption itself is the damage, and it is cheap to create: a single email or phone call can tie up an airport for hours.
British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the incidents “malicious hoax threats”. The International Air Transport Association condemned the disruptions, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley called for a measured response. That last point matters. The authorities must treat every threat as real, because the one time they do not could be the time it is real. At the same time, they must avoid letting the hoaxes shut down air travel, because that would hand the senders exactly what they want.
Hoax bomb threats reach newsrooms
On the same Friday, the threats spread beyond aviation and into newsrooms. Ireland’s national broadcaster RTE evacuated its Dublin headquarters after an emailed threat, while Britain’s Sky and Bulgaria’s Nova TV received similar threats. The move into media offices suggests the campaign is widening, or that the senders want attention as much as disruption.
An evacuation of a national broadcaster is a major event. RTE is Ireland’s public broadcaster, and its Dublin headquarters holds hundreds of staff. Clearing it takes time and stops live output. The newsroom threats also raise a question about motive: if the aim was only to disrupt flights, there would be no reason to email broadcasters. Targeting the media suggests the senders want coverage, or want to punish the outlets reporting on the hoaxes. Our separate report on how the threats reached newsrooms and forced RTE to evacuate covers the media angle in detail.
Who is claiming responsibility, and what investigators say
A group claiming responsibility reportedly emailed several media outlets warning of further attacks on transport across Europe. The email has not been independently verified, and its claims should be treated with care. Some Thursday threats were signed in the name of “Fighters of the Male State”, a group whose founder, Vladislav Pozdniakov, denied involvement and said the organisation had ceased to exist in 2021. His denial does not prove who sent the threats, but it shows the signature cannot be taken at face value.
Investigators said there is no evidence so far that a terror group or a state actor is directing the hoaxes, including Russia and Iran, both mentioned in public discussion. The inquiries are continuing, and the picture could change. For now, no one has been identified and no outside direction has been found. The threats could be the work of a small group, a single person, or a loose network of people copying each other.
Spain’s Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said the repeated incidents appeared to follow a pattern. He did not say who was behind it, and his comment stops short of blaming any country or group. But the word pattern is important. Random prank calls do not hit nine countries in a day, return to the same airports, and then move into newsrooms. Something is being coordinated, even if the coordinators are not yet known.
What this means for travellers
For passengers, the practical message is simple. Flying in Europe remains safe, and the numbers back that up. About 0.07 percent of Friday flights were affected, and every one of them landed safely. The threat is real enough to take seriously, but it is not a reason to cancel a trip. Airlines and airports have shown they can absorb the disruption and keep the system moving.
Travellers should still expect possible delays. A threat against your flight can mean hours on the ground while a search takes place. Keep your phone charged, carry water and snacks in hand luggage, and make sure your airline has your correct contact details. If your flight is delayed, check the airline app before heading to the airport, and allow extra time for connections. Until then, report anything suspicious and follow the instructions of crew and airport staff. For a fuller account of how this wave began, read our report on the first wave of hoax bomb threats against European flights.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many flights were affected by the hoax bomb threats on Friday, November 6?
At least 18 flights were disrupted on Friday, November 6, 2026, to or from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, France, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom. At least nine flights involving Prague were affected, along with four flights over France, two flights travelling towards Sofia, a Lisbon to Rome service, and four flights at Madrid Airport.
Were any explosives found on the affected flights?
No. Security searches found no explosive devices on any of the affected aircraft. Every plane landed safely and nobody has been reported hurt. Through the whole week, five flights diverted, but most continued to their intended destinations before being searched.
Who is behind the hoax bomb threats?
No one has been identified. Investigators say there is no evidence so far that a terror group or a state actor, including Russia or Iran, is directing the hoaxes, but inquiries are continuing. Some Thursday threats were signed in the name of “Fighters of the Male State”, but the group’s founder denied involvement and said the organisation had ceased to exist in 2021.
How big was the disruption compared with normal European air traffic?
Very small. Eurocontrol recorded 26,709 scheduled flights across Europe on Friday, so the 18 affected flights were about 0.07 percent of the total. The disruption was serious for the passengers and crews involved, and it forced fighter jets into the air over Hungary, but the wider system kept operating normally.
Sources
Facts in this article were checked against these reports: Media Pavilion, Hoax Bomb Threats on European Flights; Daily World Stories, Fresh Bomb Threats Disrupt European Flights as Newsrooms Evacuated; and WanderPacked, Aviation Chaos in Europe. Figures for the number of flights, the countries affected, and the security response are drawn from those reports and from The Guardian’s coverage of the week.
Final Thoughts
Friday was the third wave in a week that has now passed 50 flight-related threats, and it still ended with no bombs found and no one hurt. That is the outcome that matters most, and it is a credit to the crews, controllers, police and security teams who treated every threat as real and still brought every plane down safely. But the week has shown how cheap disruption has become: a threat costs almost nothing to send and hours of work to answer.
The campaign may end with an arrest, or it may fade when the attention moves on. Either way, the authorities face the same task they faced on Monday: treat every threat seriously, keep the planes flying, and find the people behind the messages. Until that happens, travellers can fly with confidence in the safety record, and with patience for the delays a hoax can still cause.
