Nearly 30 European flights, including one bound for Tel Aviv, targeted by bomb threats in 'malicious hoax'

Nearly 30 aircraft across Europe were targeted by bomb threats for the second time this week, in what British officials described as a "malicious hoax."

A KLM flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv, via Bucharest was one of the flights targeted in the hoax.

The plane was forced to divert around three hours into its flight and was able to land at Bucharest Airport, where passengers and crew disembarked while the aircraft was checked.

Flights to Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Poland and Romania were all affected, with one Irish flight bound for Rome diverted to a French airbase.

No explosives have been found on any plane, and no suspects have been identified, leading UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to call the series of threats a "malicious hoax."

French prosecutors are currently investigating the pilot of the flight to Rome after he initially refused to land at the base, preferring a civilian airport, before French fighter jets were dispatched to escort the plane to Évreux-Fauville Air Base in France.

A Finnair aircraft from Helsinki to Rome also was also escorted to an airport by the Italian Air Force.

Several airports affected by the threats received an email from a group called the "Male Legion" (MG), also known as the "Fighters of the Male State," which claimed it would paint the skies red.

MG is an far-right Russian terrorist organization founded in 2016 and banned by Russia in 2021 for inciting hatred against women. The group believes in restoring traditional gender roles through violent action.

European officials warned that despite the emails, there is currently no evidence linking the group to the threats. However, the threats resemble Russian intelligence operations, with Eric Schouten, head of aviation security group Dyami, telling Reuters that "it does fit in the modus operandi."