A day after a Luton scare, hoax 'bomb threats' hit six flights across Europe including two from Heathrow and Manchester
181 people on board evacuated while bomb disposal teams inspected the aircraft and luggage.A locator map of European flight routes, showing the countries affected by Tuesday's bomb threats, including the Ryanair jet from Manchester that landed under guard in Murcia, Spain.
Russia has been blamed for orchestrating the wave of hoax threats, with officials accusing Vladimir Putin of waging a "shadow war" on UK aviation. All six aircraft landed safely and bomb disposal teams found no explosives on any of the planes after thorough searches of passengers, luggage and aircraft.
The affected flights included LOT Polish Airlines from Heathrow carrying 181 passengers, a Ryanair flight from Manchester diverted to Murcia with 114 passengers, two Ryanair flights forced into Rome's Fiumicino, an SAS flight from Copenhagen to Warsaw, and a flight from Israel diverted to Sofia.
Italian Air Force jets escorted the Manchester Ryanair flight to its landing, while Warsaw's Modlin Airport was temporarily closed during security operations before reopening at midday.
The six Tuesday incidents came just 24 hours after a Hungarian fighter jet accompanied a Wizz Air flight from London Luton into Budapest following a separate bomb threat.
