27 EUROPEAN FLIGHTS GOT BOMB THREATS AND THE TOTAL NUMBER OF BOMBS WAS ZERO

Somebody with an email account and an empty Thursday decided to threaten European aviation, and the whole continent had to take it seriously. Reuters counted at least 27 flights hit, from Ireland to Bulgaria. Italian fighter jets escorted a Finnair plane from Helsinki into Rome. French jets walked an Aer Lingus Dublin to Rome flight into the Evreux air base in Normandy. Bulgaria's air force went up for three Ryanair flights headed to Sofia. Searches turned up no explosives, because there weren't any. The details get stupider. Spain's Guardia Civil said three emailed threats arrived in under 20 minutes. Czech police said four planes bound for Prague were targeted, rated the credibility low, and searched them anyway, because that is the job. Finnair had 144 passengers and seven crew on the Rome flight and 177 passengers and six crew on the Vienna one, all sitting there for a guy who typed. This was the second round in three days. Tuesday hit at least seven flights and a cruise ship. The EU's transport commissioner says it's too early to say whether the waves are linked, which is Brussels for "we have no idea yet." No government has blamed anyone, though European officials have spent a long time accusing Russia of cheap, deniable sabotage that stops just short of getting shot at.

Why you should give a shit: No bomb, no suspect, no attribution, just a working demo that one jackass with an inbox can scramble three air forces for free while Europe pays the fuel bill.