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Bomb threats have continued to target flights across Europe on Thursday, the second time this week that hoaxes have caused significant travel disruption.

The hoaxes have prompted unplanned landings and security searches of planes across the continent this week, while authorities are still unclear about the origins of the incidents.

No confirmed link has been made between any of the threats this week, and no country has attributed blame.

So far, no reports have been made of devices found on any of the flights in Europe, while the UK government described the threats targeting flights departing Britain on Tuesday as “malicious hoax threats”.

Follow live: Flight bomb threats latest

What is a bomb hoax versus a threat?

A bomb threat is defined as a person who places an article or communicates information with the intention of inducing a person to believe that something is likely to explode or ignite, causing harm.

Most bomb threats turn out to be hoaxes, designed to cause fear and disruption, but they are nevertheless taken seriously.

A person found guilty of a bomb hoax in the UK can receive up to seven years in prison.

Are flights still being impacted?

Incidents are still being reported as of Thursday. The latest were bomb alerts that were recorded on two flights (A3552 and FR8953) bound for Milan’s Malpensa airport, but both landed safely.

Information is still emerging about flights being impacted by bomb threats across Europe.

More than 10 flights have reportedly been affected so far today, with some landing at their destination and others diverted.

These include Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome, which landed safely at Evreux airport, 100 km west of Paris, after being diverted as a security precaution on Thursday.

A Polish LOT airliner was forced to land at Brussels’ Zaventem airport after a security warning, but no suspicious items were found.

Finnair said that two of its flights, AY1761 from Helsinki to Rome and AY1471 from Helsinki to Vienna, faced unfounded or hoax bomb threats Thursday.

Four unidentified flights also landed in Prague after receiving bomb threats, although no explosives were found on any of the planes.

Bulgarian officials also reported three planes making emergency landings, including a flight from London, which landed in Plovdiv.

What flights were affected earlier this week?

These incidents come after a series of bomb hoaxes earlier this week which caused planes to make emergency landings.

At least seven flights were subject to bomb threats on Tuesday, forcing several planes to divert, while Warsaw-Modlin airport in Poland also closed.

Two of these flights were from London, while others were from Manchester, Copenhagen, Israel, Dublin, Bergamo and Lisbon, causing travel disruptions to hundreds of passengers onboard.

These threats followed an incident on Monday when a Wizz Air flight from London Luton to Bulgaria was diverted to Budapest after a mid-air bomb threat.

What should I know as a passenger?

Bomb hoaxes would likely be classed as an extraordinary circumstance by an airline, so if your flight is disrupted, you are unlikely to receive compensation under UK law.

As a passenger, you are covered by UK law if you are departing from an airport in the UK on any airline, arriving at an airport in the UK on an EU or UK airline, or arriving at an airport in the EU on a UK airline.

If your flight is cancelled, the airline will try to get you to your destination as quickly as possible and will provide food and drink vouchers, and arrange accommodation if necessary, or ask you to claim back for this at a later date.

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