A wave of bomb threats against passenger flights across Europe forced emergency searches at airports in at least five countries, briefly halted operations at an airport near Warsaw and prompted the Italian Air Force to scramble fighter jets. No explosive device was found on any aircraft, and nobody has claimed responsibility.

At least seven flights were targeted, Al Jazeera reported. Ryanair was the worst affected, with four flights threatened — Dublin–Rome, Lisbon–Rome, Manchester–Murcia and Dublin–Sofia. Wizz Air, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and the Polish carrier LOT were also hit.

Eurofighters over Rome

Two Italian Air Force Eurofighter jets escorted Ryanair flight FR9611 from Dublin into Rome’s Fiumicino airport, where it landed at 10:45 a.m. local time.

In Poland, two Warsaw-bound services were targeted, among them SAS flight SK751 from Copenhagen. An SAS spokesperson, Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji, played down the drama: “The passengers disembarked, the plane landed normally; it was not an emergency landing.”

Airports at Warsaw Chopin, Warsaw Modlin, Rome Fiumicino, Murcia, Sofia, London Heathrow, Manchester and Budapest were drawn into the response.

A cruise ship off Greece

The threats were not confined to aviation. The Panama-flagged cruise ship Crown Iris, carrying about 1,500 passengers and crew and bound for Haifa in Israel, was evacuated off the Greek island of Syros after a threat was received. As with the aircraft, nothing was found.

Disruption as the point

Rhys Jones of the aviation risk firm Osprey Flight Solutions told Al Jazeera that the pattern itself was the clue to the motive: “The lack of clear target state, airline or route indicates that general disruption to aviation operations is the aim.”

The sequence had been building. Late on Tuesday night Colombo time, Hiru News reported, citing the BBC, that seven aircraft had been inspected — including two Ryanair planes that landed at Rome. By Wednesday morning Hiru was carrying the fuller Al Jazeera account, with the Ryanair count at four and the cruise ship included.

Not reported

Neither filing identifies how the threats were communicated, whether they are believed to come from a single source, or whether any arrest has been made. The number of passengers delayed is not given, and no European aviation authority is quoted on whether a coordinated response has been ordered. There is no reported Sri Lankan connection: no Sri Lankan carrier, airport or national was involved.