Bomb threats latest: Sky receives security threat - hours after Irish broadcaster evacuated and flights hit by scares

British broadcaster Sky said on Friday it has received a security threat, hours after Irish broadcaster RTE evacuated its building following a bomb threat, and as a wave of bomb threats have affected European flights this week.

Sky was one of a number of media organisations that received a security threat, the broadcaster, which is owned by Comcast, said in a statement read by a presenter on Sky News.

“We have carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities. The safety and security of our colleagues is our primary concern, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure our people and operations remain secure. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

Earlier on Friday, RTE said the threat it had received claimed to be ⁠by ​the ⁠same group who ⁠have been behind ​a ⁠wave ‌of bomb threats issued to passenger ‌flights around Europe ‌this week. The reporter read excerpts from the email on air, but did ⁠not name ⁠the group.

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Newsrooms across Ireland and Bulgaria received bomb threats

Newsrooms in Ireland and Bulgaria received emailed bomb threats on Friday from a purported “Mikhail Andropov”, claiming responsibility for a widening wave of hoax threats disrupting passenger flights across Europe.

The messages, sent to Bulgaria’s Nova TV and the Irish public broadcaster RTE, which evacuated its offices, were headlined “Message to the West” and portrayed the threats as the prelude to a series of attacks on means of transport across Europe. The British broadcaster Sky also said it had received a security threat.

Reuters was not able to establish the identity of the sender, the origin of the emails, or whether they had in fact come from the same source as the threats to any or all of the dozens of flights affected since Tuesday. No explosive devices have been found and all planes have landed safely.

Reuters6 November 2026 13:24

More about RTÉ's threat

RTÉ put “staff safety first” and evacuated employees shortly after 9am, the organisation’s deputy director general has said.

Adrian Lynch told RTÉ’s News At One radio programme: “I received a call and shortly before nine o’clock from our deputy managing director of news to inform me of the email that had come in.

“He’d already forwarded that email to the director general.

“Just after nine, I then spoke with the director General and we took the decision that we had to put staff safety first.

“So we began a process of evacuation and we activated our business continuity plan.

“So we took this threat very seriously and I have to say it’s extremely sinister and it’s also very sinister that this happened to a number of media organisations simultaneously.”

Bryony Gooch6 November 2026 13:22

Threat against Sky the latest in a number of scares this week

The bomb threat against Sky is the latest scare this week. Flights around the world were disrupted by bomb threats.

Irish broadcaster RTE also said it received a threat, claiming to be ⁠by ​the ⁠same group who ⁠have been behind ​a ⁠wave ‌of bomb threats issued to passenger ‌flights around Europe ‌this week.

The reporter read excerpts from the email on air, but did ⁠not name ⁠the group.

Bryony Gooch6 November 2026 13:19

Sky receives security threat - full statement

British broadcaster Sky said on Friday it has received a security threat.

Sky was one of a number of media organisations that received a security threat, the broadcaster, which is owned by Comcast, said in a statement read by a presenter on Sky News.

“We have carried out a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities. The safety and security of our colleagues is our primary concern, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure our people and operations remain secure. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”