Arabic version: تهديدات بوجود قنابل تعطل رحلات أوروبية وتؤدي إلى تفتيش في سيدني

According to ABC News, nearly 30 flights across Europe were disrupted on Thursday in a new wave of bomb threats, while Australian Federal Police conducted precautionary searches at Sydney Airport after threats were sent to an airport.

Aircraft were diverted across several countries, with fighter jet escorts and airport evacuations reported as specialist teams searched for explosives. At least 27 flights were disrupted, affecting Ryanair, Wizz Air, Aer Lingus, Finnair, LOT Polish Airlines, easyJet, Iberia, Air Europa, Air Serbia, Aegean Airlines and SAS. No explosives have been found on any of the affected flights, and authorities have treated the reported incidents as false alarms.

At Sydney Airport, armed AFP officers met passengers arriving from Tokyo on ANA flight NH899 on Thursday night. Passenger Patrick Wild said the flight landed about 8pm and travellers were initially told to remain on board for 20 minutes, but waited for an hour and a half. He said officers instructed passengers to line up, leave their bags on the floor and undergo checks by a dog, before they waited near duty-free shops.

The AFP said it responded just after 6pm on Thursday and that airport safety and security remained its priority. Officials have not confirmed whether the Sydney incident was connected to the European threats. Britain’s Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander described the threats as “malicious hoax threats”, while the European Union activated an aviation security information-sharing mechanism. The people responsible have not been identified, and there is no confirmed evidence linking Russia, China or North Korea to the threats.