Bomb threats target around 20 flights across Europe, with fighter jets called in

If you were following flight trackers on Thursday, you may have noticed something odd. Around twenty commercial flights across Europe were hit by bomb threats, and the sheer number points to a coordinated attack.

Several countries, including France, had to call in their air forces to escort airliners that had been threatened. Most flights were able to land at their original destination. Some were diverted.

One Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome was rerouted to the Évreux air base in Normandy, according to Matignon (the French prime minister's office). The 157 people on board were brought to safety. Aircraft also made emergency landings in Belgium, Italy, Bulgaria, Austria and the Czech Republic.

This was not the first wave. About ten flights had already been targeted on Tuesday, and the authorities of the countries involved said those alerts turned out to be false.

Nobody has been identified as responsible so far. The incidents come amid growing concern in Europe about hybrid threats, such as cyberattacks and drone flyovers, and about Russia's increasingly aggressive stance.