Why have more than 30 European flights been hit by bomb threats this week?

At least 35 flights have been disrupted this week, beginning on Monday, when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Sofia in Bulgaria was diverted to Budapest. Thursday’s threats affected airports in London, Birmingham, Brussels, Bucharest, Madrid, Milan, Prague, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw, among others.

So far all incidents have been confirmed to be false alarms, with nothing suspicious found by relevant security authorities.

Which airports and airlines have been most affected?

There is no clear pattern of airports and airlines targeted, although a significant number have involved Italian airports as an origin or destination. Seven flights this week were to – or from the UK – and four to or from Ireland.