At least 12 passenger aircraft were diverted or forced into emergency landings across Europe on Thursday, and AP reports more than a dozen flights were targeted. An Aer Lingus A320 flying Dublin to Rome was sent to the Évreux military airbase, about 100km west of Paris. Three aircraft landed at Bulgarian airports, two in Sofia and one in Plovdiv, and Ryanair flights were among them. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw was diverted to Vienna after a threat came in mid-flight, and a LOT jet from Heathrow landed at Warsaw Modlin, which closed briefly for checks. Finnair said two of its flights from Helsinki got threats and landed safely, and Czech police searched four planes in Prague. Fighter jets escorted aircraft in France, Italy and Hungary.

So far inspections have turned up no hazardous or suspicious materials, and Finnair called its threats unfounded. The pattern repeats Tuesday, when at least seven flights and a cruise ship received bomb threats and no devices were discovered.

AP notes the threats come amid higher geopolitical tension and other signs of disruption, such as drone incursions, attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and mysterious triggers to alert apps. Drones have also been shutting airports. Luxembourg's airport closed on September 18 and diverted 19 flights, and Jersey's airport was shut two nights running at the end of October.

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