Amsterdam-bound KLM flight lands safely after Prague airport bomb alerts

Another round of bomb threats hit flights at Václav Havel Airport in Prague on Friday morning, among them a KLM service to the Netherlands. The aircraft landed safely at Amsterdam Schiphol, where passengers and crew were taken off the plane by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. It came a day after more than two dozen threats targeting flights across Europe.

Key facts

• Nine aircraft at Prague Airport were being checked on Friday: four arriving and five departing
• KLM flight KL1352 from Prague landed safely at Schiphol at 10:25 a.m.
• The aircraft left again 45 minutes later and reached its destination 15 minutes behind schedule
• The airport said the incident was not affecting operations
• At least two dozen threats were reported across Europe on Thursday

What happened on Friday?

The Czech national police said on X that threats were again made about placing an explosive device on board a large number of aircraft arriving at and departing from Prague Airport. Working with the airport, the police said they took the necessary security measures with minimal impact on normal operations and would continue to handle the matter.

All nine aircraft under investigation were on the ground and being inspected during the morning, airport spokesperson Denisa Hejtmánková said, quoted by CNN Prima News. Prague Airport said the incident was not affecting operations.

Emergency services in the Czech capital were also dealing with a power outage on Friday that affected 70,000 energy consumers. Authorities are not speculating that the issue was related to a hack.

What happened to the KLM flight?

A KLM spokesperson said the airline received a threat on Friday morning concerning flight KL1352 from Prague to Amsterdam. The plane landed safely at Schiphol at 10:25 a.m., after which the Marechaussee escorted passengers and crew off the aircraft and handled the incident in line with its established procedures.

The spokesperson said KLM takes every bomb threat seriously and assesses each one carefully, but does not share details of its protocols or assessments for security reasons.

What happened on Thursday?

Dozens of flights were affected by bomb threats this week, with at least two dozen incidents on Thursday involving airlines from several European countries. The threats resulted in emergency landings, diversions, fighter jet escorts and security searches.

That included KLM flight KL461, which left Amsterdam Schiphol at 4:40 p.m. on Thursday for Tel Aviv with a scheduled stop in Bucharest. KLM received a threat at around 7:30 p.m.; the aircraft landed safely at Henri Coandă International Airport, where all 52 passengers and six crew members were evacuated. Romanian specialists searched the plane, passengers and luggage and found no explosives or suspicious objects.

After being cleared to continue towards Tel Aviv, the aircraft developed a technical problem while taxiing for departure, and KLM cancelled the flight.

Who is behind the threats?

Many of the threats were sent through anonymous emails. Channel News Asia reported that emails sent to airports in Rome and Sofia are claimed to have originated from the Russian far-right group Male State, set up by Russian blogger Vladislav Pozdnyakov and since banned in Russia. Pozdnyakov has denied any involvement and said the group no longer exists.

What this means for travellers

Passengers flying to or from Prague Airport, and those on affected KLM routes, face inspections, delays and possible cancellations when threats are received. Travellers on these routes should check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport and allow for possible disruption.

Czech police said they will continue handling the matter. No further details on next steps or expected disruption have been announced.