KLM flight stranded in Bucharest after bomb threat

A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv received a bomb threat on Thursday and was then unable to leave Bucharest because of a technical problem, the airline told news agency ANP.

Flight KL461 received a bomb threat at 7.30pm while in Bucharest, everyone on board got off, and the plane was inspected. Romania’s intelligence agency said the pilots asked for a pyrotechnic inspection of the aircraft.

The plane was cleared to continue to Tel Aviv on Friday morning, but a technical fault was found just before departure. The flight was cancelled and passengers were put up in hotels. KLM is looking for alternative flights for them.

The KLM flight was one of at least 27 passenger flights hit by hoax bomb threats on Thursday, in countries including France, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Denmark, Poland, Romania, Ireland, the UK and the Czech Republic, according to Reuters.

Some planes made unplanned landings, and fighter jets escorted or intercepted others.

The office of the French prime minister said fighter jets intercepted an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome and escorted it to an airbase near Paris, after the pilot did not cooperate with the authorities as expected.

Spanish police received three emailed threats within 20 minutes, covering six Air Europa and Iberia flights.

It was the second wave this week. On Tuesday, at least seven passenger flights were targeted, and aircraft were searched in Poland, Spain, Bulgaria and Italy. No explosives were reported found.

The national counterterrorism agency NCTV says it does not know where the threats are coming from. “The number of bomb threats in such quick succession is striking and has the NCTV’s special attention,” a spokesperson told ANP. “Unfortunately, it is impossible to stop reports like this being made.”