What did Frank Gardner say about the bomb threats against European flights?

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the threats were taken far more seriously than the near-daily hoaxes airlines receive because they were clearly coordinated: at least 18, possibly more than 20, in one week. He noted some people link them to Russia, whose own airports are disrupted by Ukrainian drones, but said there is no evidence tying the threats to any state and drawing that conclusion automatically would be irresponsible.

• At least 12 planes were affected on 5 November and at least seven on the Tuesday before.
• A London to Sofia flight made an emergency landing in Plovdiv, and Prague police checked four flights and found no explosives.
• Gardner warned that an anonymous email with the right wording can divert a whole flight and trigger a full security alert.

▸In their words

“There are almost daily hoaxes in this industry, but these ones were taken far more seriously, partly because clearly they're coordinated.” Frank Gardner · at 7:18 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-11-05). Read the whole episode summary →

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