Multiple planes diverted as bomb threats to commercial flights reported across Europe

The four flights affected at Prague airport can now be confirmed as inbound flights from Athens, Dublin, Glasgow and Newcastle.

A spokesperson for the Prague airport, Jiří Hannich, told the Guardian that “an anonymous threat was received concerning the possible presence of explosive devices on board selected flights” arriving to Prague.

“In accordance with the Airport Emergency Plan, the Security Operations Command Center was activated under the direction of the Police of the Czech Republic.

The aircraft landed safely in Prague and were directed to remote stands.

Following their arrival, the Police of the Czech Republic conducted security searches of the aircraft for explosives, all with negative results. All passengers safely disembarked from the aircraft and received their baggage once all necessary security measures had been completed.

The situation had no significant impact on other airport operations. The threat is currently under police investigation. For this reason, we are not in a position to provide any further details.”

Global airlines body Iata has “condemned … attempts to interrupt air transport,” urging the relevant authorities to “find the origins of these hoax threats.”

“Safety is the number one priority for the industry and we take all threats seriously,” Iata’s senior vicepresident for operations, safety and security, Nick Careen said in a statement.

Austrian defence ministry spokesperson Michael Bauer has confirmed that all affected flights in Austrian airspace were escorted by Eurofighters jets.

Spanish airline Iberia has just confirmed that two of its planes were among the three affected by false bomb alerts at Madrid airport