KLM flight diverted to Bucharest after bomb threat, 27 flights affected across Europe

A KLM flight bound for Tel Aviv was diverted to Bucharest, Romania, late on Thursday after a bomb threat was received onboard. The incident was one of at least 27 passenger flights across Europe disrupted by bomb threats on Thursday.The Romanian intelligence agency said late on Thursday that two additional planes had received bomb threats, including the KLM flight. The pilots of the KLM aircraft requested a pyrotechnical inspection. The flight departed Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport at 4:40 PM and the bomb threat was received at 7:30 PM Central European Time.The plane landed at its scheduled stop in Bucharest, where 52 passengers and six crew members safely disembarked. Romania’s internal intelligence service (SRI) investigated the threat but found no explosives, confirming it was a hoax.This incident marks the third day of a wave of bomb threats across Europe, which began on November 2. Earlier on Thursday, a Wizz Air flight from Milan to Bucharest also received a bomb threat. On Monday, a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia was diverted to Budapest due to a similar threat.The Dutch Counterterrorism Office (NCTV) said the source of the bomb threats is still unknown. Heidi Alexander, the UK’s Transport Secretary, described the threats affecting flights across Europe as “malicious hoax threats.” Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European Union’s Transport Commissioner, cautioned against concluding whether the incidents are connected. So far, no explosives have been found in any of the reported incidents.Benjamin Smith, CEO of KLM, said he had never seen such a widespread use of bomb threats in European air traffic this week. Finnair also reported that two of its aircraft were affected, and other European airlines have faced similar hoax bomb threats this week, though Finnair stated that such threats are often baseless.