TAROM flight from Prague to Bucharest targeted by false bomb threat

A flight from Prague to Bucharest operated by Romania’s national carrier TAROM with 102 people on board was targeted by a bomb threat on Friday, November 6.

The flight in question was TAROM RO226 Prague – Bucharest. Airport officials confirmed the incident, stating that the plane landed safely at 12:19 and that the threat proved to be false.

"Regarding TAROM flight RO226 Prague – Bucharest, which is due to land at Henri Coandă Airport: 102 passengers on board. Procedural measures are being implemented at airport level, in cooperation with state institutions," the Bucharest National Airports Company announced.

The incident came after waves of bomb threats targeting commercial aircraft across Europe, including Romania, earlier this week. So far, no threat has been confirmed.

Three planes that landed at Otopeni Airport on Thursday, November 5, were targeted by bomb threats: a Wizz Air plane arriving from Milan and an Air Serbia flight from Belgrade. A Dutch KLM plane on the ground, which had stopped in Bucharest on its way to Tel Aviv, was also targeted.

According to Corriere della Sera, the "Fighters of the Male State (Мужское государство)" group was behind many of the bomb threats targeting commercial airplanes this week.

A Russian court banned the group in October 2021, and its members were designated as extremists. However, the "Male State" still has followers and is a vocal online supporter of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.