False bomb alerts disrupt European flights, including Madrid routes

False bomb threats disrupted flights across Europe on Thursday, 5 November 2026, including routes serving Madrid-Barajas. No explosives had been found in the cases reported.

Two Iberia flights to Madrid, from Milan and Rome, received false threats but landed normally, Andalucía Información reported. An Air Europa flight to Paris was evacuated before leaving Madrid, according to El Español. Operations resumed once that threat was found to be false.

Aena, which runs Spain’s main airports, said it had dismissed the alert because it saw no risk to passengers or crew.

Spain’s Transport Ministry said three Ryanair flights heading to Bulgaria received false threats. They had left Madrid, London and Copenhagen. No bombs were found on those aircraft.

An Aer Lingus service from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Évreux air base in northern France. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu’s office said all 151 passengers and six crew landed safely. Bomb disposal teams checked the plane.

Aer Lingus said it would arrange new bookings to get passengers to their destination as soon as possible.

The scale of the disruption remained unclear. ElDiario.es counted at least a dozen affected flights; El Español reported at least 25; La Vanguardia put the figure at nearly thirty.

The EU said it was not yet clear whether the alerts were linked, Euronews reported. El Mundo said no national or European authority had blamed a group or country.

Finnair said its flights from Helsinki to Rome and Vienna received threats but landed as planned. Wizz Air said a Milan Malpensa–Warsaw service landed in Vienna after an alert during the flight.

Czech police said four flights to Prague landed as planned and checks found nothing suspicious. Polish Airports said a runway at Warsaw Chopin briefly closed after an alert involving a LOT flight to Paris. Normal service resumed after the threat was not confirmed.

Thursday’s disruption followed earlier alerts this week. On Tuesday, Murcia airport activated its safety procedures over a Ryanair flight from Manchester, Europa Press reported.