Dublin (AFP) - Ireland’s government said Friday that hoax bomb claims sent to Irish media outlets amid a spate of threats against Europe-wide flights were “likely” part of a “co-ordinated campaign of disruption”.

Dozens of commercial flights in Europe have been targeted by false bomb threats this week, forcing authorities to reroute some planes or escort civilian aircraft with fighter jets.

No explosives have been found in any of the incidents so far, and those responsible have not been identified.

Some of the messages have come in emails signed by “fighters of the Male State”, which matches the name of a radical misogynist group in Russia – though AFP has not confirmed any link to the messages.

The group’s founder, Vladislav Pozdniakov, denied any involvement, saying on social media Friday that the “movement does not exist since 2021”.

The threats spread to a new target, with staff at several Irish media organisations evacuated after bomb threats were emailed to newsrooms, said the Irish government.

“These threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a co-ordinated campaign of disruption,” it added.

British broadcaster Sky News told AFP it had also received a “security threat” on Friday, but gave no further details.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said it was unclear whether the hoaxes and recent cyberattacks targeting refrigeration systems at French blood banks and European supermarkets were “all connected”.

“But they definitely all tell us the same thing: today, what is under attack are civilian infrastructures.”

The NATO alliance continued to monitor the situation and was working “closely with allies”, according to a senior NATO military official.

-‘Costs nothing’ -

Hungarian Defence Minister Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi said NATO had ordered fighter jets to be scrambled “three times within a few hours” in response to “bomb threats involving three civilian passenger aircraft”.

Bulgaria’s defence ministry said its fighter jets had escorted commercial aircraft through Bulgarian airspace following alerts about explosives on board.

This series of false alarms, which are difficult to trace, forces security services to respond and spreads fear at virtually no cost to those responsible, experts told AFP.

“This must be viewed in the context of hybrid operations against European states,” Jean-Marc Rickli, director of global and emerging risks at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, told AFP, without speculating about who might be responsible.

“It costs the perpetrator nothing, but it has a significant impact logistically and, of course, on public perception,” he said.

Mark Rowley, chief of London’s Metropolitan Police, urged a measured response, saying past experience with the paramilitary Irish Republican Army offered valuable lessons.

He recalled the phrase “10-p (pence) terrorism”, when a hoax bomb call could disrupt an entire city, forcing authorities to distinguish between genuine and false threats.

The authorities would need to adapt to an evolving threat landscape involving actors around the world, some backed by hostile states, he said.

“We are going to have to adapt to that same methodology to make sure that we don’t overreact to every message we get online,” he told BBC Radio 4.

- Dozens of threats -

Four flights bound for Madrid-Barajas Airport on Friday were targeted by bomb threats that turned out to be false, Spanish airport operator AENA told AFP.

Another four aircraft flying over France were targeted the same day, the prime minister’s office said, adding they had landed “without incident”.

Other bomb threats targeted multiple flights to and from Lisbon, Rome, Prague and Sofia on Friday, authorities said.

At least 11 flights were targeted in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria: four flights arriving at Prague airport and five flights leaving Prague were threatened, as well as two flights to Sofia.

The threat comes after nearly 30 passenger flights were targeted across Europe on Thursday, including planes bound for London, Madrid and Copenhagen.

-‘Skies will turn red’-

Some previous hoax messages seen by AFP have contained misogynistic messages.

“We, fighters of the Male State, with our actions today will leave a mark in history. Your feminist regime will remember it forever,” said one sent to multiple email addresses for Sofia airport. “The explosion will occur in 60 minutes. Today your skies will turn red.”

In 2021, Russia designated the Male State group, which used to harass feminists, minorities and LGBTQ people, an “extremist” organisation.

Despite this, the group supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Experts say it is unclear whether it is connected to the Russian authorities.