Rome and Sofia airports receive bomb threat emails signed in Male State’s name

Emails sent to Rome and Sofia airports on 5 November were signed “the fighters of the Male State”, as bomb alerts disrupted flights across Europe. AFP reported that the Sofia message claimed explosives were at the airport and on three Ryanair flights to Bulgaria; the sender’s identity has not been confirmed.

What the Sofia email claimed

The message to Sofia said, “The explosion will occur in 60 minutes,” and threatened that “today, your skies will turn red.” AFP reported that Rome airport operator ADR confirmed receiving a similar email. AFP said it could not establish who sent the messages. A far-right movement in Russia is also called the Male State, but the signature alone does not show that the group was responsible.

How the alerts affected European flights

The BBC reported that at least 21 aircraft and several airports were targeted, affecting flights in eight countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland and Romania. The BBC said an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to a French air base, while Italian fighter jets escorted a Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome. Threats at Heathrow and Birmingham airports were assessed as not credible, and searches described by the BBC found no explosives.

TheJournal.ie reported that a threat was also called in for a flight at Cork Airport, without identifying the flight. It said the Cork flight and the diverted Aer Lingus service both landed safely.

A second wave of alerts that week

The BBC described the 5 November alerts as the second such incident that week. Two days earlier, it reported, seven European flights had been searched after threats; no explosives were found on those aircraft. The BBC said it was unclear whether the incidents were related, and that some threats had been claimed by a little-known group.