Crimeupdated 34m ago2 min read
Sky And RTÉ Receive Bomb Threats As Europe Air Traffic Disrupts
“it seems likely that this is a coordinated campaign of disruption”
“Authorities had not established whether an individual or a coordinated group was behind the threats”
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New bomb threats target European flights and media offices, including RTÉ and Sky News. Irish media offices evacuated; broadcasts interrupted as threats circulated.
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Flights and broadcasters targeted
A new series of bomb threats disrupted air traffic across Europe on Friday while also expanding to target media organizations, and Sky said it was one of a number of newsrooms that received a bomb threat. Sky’s statement said, “We have carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities,” and Irish broadcaster RTÉ evacuated staff at its Donnybrook campus in Dublin after an email was received shortly before 9 a.m.
The threats also prompted jets escorted airliners flying from Brussels to Sofia and from Prague to Bucharest and Cyprus through Hungarian airspace, and Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said NATO had ordered an air patrol near the Hungarian-Romanian border. Czech police registered bomb threats to nine flights departing from or arriving in Prague, and an airport spokesperson said no flights had been cancelled as a result.
Hoax claims and evacuations
RTÉ Radio One presenter David McCullagh told listeners that the threat warned that a bomb would explode within 45 minutes, and the Irish government said hoax bomb claims were also sent to Virgin Media, Newstalk radio and The Irish Independent newspaper. Presenter Claire Byrne said the threat had been deemed a hoax, and Newstalk resumed broadcasting at 10 a.m. local time after employees were cleared to return.
Micheál Martin said the threats to RTE and others “just illustrates how relatively simple it can be to cause disruption and to undermine the normal operation of society,” and he also said police and the Defence Forces were working to identify those responsible. The Jerusalem Post reported that Sky received its security threat hours after RTÉ evacuated its building, and Sky’s statement said, “It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time,” as police searched RTÉ building by building.
What authorities say is at risk
Eurocontrol said it was monitoring the situation and working closely with airlines, airports, navigation service providers and other groups across Europe “to mitigate any disruption to air traffic flows,” as Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport said a total of nine flights were threatened. In Denmark, police said they went to the airport for a second consecutive day “in connection with threats directed at air traffic” as a precautionary measure, and they assessed that there had been no danger to passengers or to others at the airport.
In Ireland, Micheál Martin said there would be a “very significant security operation” in place next week when Dublin hosts meetings of the European Political Community and European Union leaders, and Ireland’s Minister of Defense Helen McEntee said, “Everything necessary and appropriate to guarantee safety and protection during the entire meeting will be done.” Across the week, Eurocontrol said threats caused minimal disruption to aviation, and Paul Reuter of the European Cockpit Association called the use of civil aviation for geopolitical disruption or hoaxes “totally unacceptable.”