Nov 11, 2026
2 min read
Last week, bomb hoaxes forced passenger planes to divert and disrupted broadcasts across Europe. On Wednesday, the threats reached classrooms, forcing 312 schools across Italy to evacuate.
About 6,300 Italian schools received the emailed warning, Reuters reported. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said 312 were evacuated. At Rome’s Mamiani High School, some students mistook the alarm for the recess bell and only learned about the threat once they were outside, The Associated Press reported.
Schools in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland received similar messages. Authorities treated them as hoaxes and classes continued.
The disruption began last Thursday when bomb threats affected at least 27 flights across Europe. Some aircraft made unscheduled landings and fighter jets were sent to escort or intercept others. Searches found no explosives.
On Friday, threats were sent to broadcasters including Ireland’s RTÉ, Britain’s Sky and Bulgaria’s Nova TV. Staff were evacuated from several outlets, and RTÉ replaced some programmes with music and a recorded message for up to three hours. No bombs were found.
The name used to sign the Italian school email also appeared on threats sent to RTÉ and Nova TV. CBS News reported that a message using the same name was sent to airport authorities in Rome last week, threatening two flights. Authorities have yet to establish who was behind the messages or whether the incidents were coordinated.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said there was no indication of a real danger to schools. She called a meeting with intelligence and cybersecurity officials to discuss the threats and examine a possible link to the airline hoaxes.
