No bombs have been found, but diversions, inspections, and flight interruptions have taken place. The succession of threats against European aircraft has forced security resources to be mobilized in several countries and has placed a name at the center of attention: Estado Masculino.
That name appears in emails that announce alleged explosives on board. It matches that of a Russian movement known for its campaigns of harassment against women and minorities. However, the presence of a signature in a message does not prove that the organization sent it. AFP has explicitly said it has been unable to confirm that link.
The investigation has to resolve two separate questions: who is behind each threat and whether the incidents form part of the same operation. Meanwhile, the group’s founder, Vladislav Pozdniakov, says the movement ceased to exist and rejects any involvement.
1. What has happened on European flights
During this week, different airports and airlines have received warnings of alleged explosives that have affected dozens of flights. Some aircraft have been diverted; others have landed at their destination and have been inspected. Military fighter jet interventions have also occurred.
Not all episodes were emergency landings. The response varied depending on the moment when the threat was received and the situation of the aircraft.
The incident relationship compiled by Reuters includes, for example, the diversion of an Aer Lingus flight between Dublin and Rome to the French base of Évreux. In other cases, such as a Wizz Air aircraft approaching Bucharest, the landing was completed at the planned airport before checks.
This difference matters for describing the scope of what happened. An alert can alter operations without requiring a change of airport or interrupting all flights from a facility.
2. How the threats have affected Spain
Madrid-Barajas is among the affected airports. In its corrected list of incidents from Thursday, November 5, Reuters identifies an Air Europa flight from Madrid to Paris and two Iberia flights coming from Rome and Milan. The passengers disembarked to allow the inspections.
On Friday, new threats related to four flights bound for Madrid were received: three from London and one from Munich. According to RTVE, citing Aena, the alerts were ruled out after the corresponding evaluation and checks.
The figures published at different times do not always say the same thing: some talk about threats received, others about affected aircraft, and others about diverted flights. That is why they should not be added without first reviewing what each figure measures.
3. Why the name Male State appears
The lead comes from messages sent to recipients linked to airports and airlines. According to the information from El Español provided for this piece, an email received in Rome attributed the threats to the "luchadores del Estado Masculino" [fighters of Male State]. AFP also examined a message addressed to several addresses of Sofia Airport.
The texts combined references to alleged explosives with a discourse against feminism. That content matches the ideology for which the Russian movement became known, but ideological coincidence also does not prove authorship.
Reuters was not able to independently verify who had sent the email known in Italy. The agency collected different possibilities put forward by specialists: a coordinated operation, individual initiatives, or copycats who take advantage of the impact of the first warnings.
The name may constitute an authentic lead or an identity used by third parties. The sources consulted do not yet allow that alternative to be resolved.
4. What Male State is and why it is considered extremist
Male State, known internationally as Male State, emerged as a community on networks linked to Vladislav Pozdniakov. It became known for promoting misogynistic, racist and homophobic positions and for running campaigns against people and companies.
Its activity gained notoriety during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The group pointed to Russian women who were involved with foreign fans. It also spearheaded campaigns against businesses because of its advertisements and because of the presence there of Black people or messages associated with diversity.
The investigation published by Bellingcat in 2021 documented the use of digital communities to mobilize supporters against specific targets. Its importance did not lie solely in spreading opinions: the campaigns transferred hostility to identifiable people and establishments.
This background explains the interest sparked by the firm that appeared in the emails. By themselves, they do not make its former members responsible for the air threats.
5. What happened with its founder and with the ban in Russia
Pozdniakov’s judicial record and the ban on the movement are two different episodes.
In December 2018, the founder received a two-year prison sentence suspended in a case related to incitement to hatred against women. It should not be described as two years of actual imprisonment. The sentence was overturned in March 2019 after the partial decriminalization of the article used.
Then, on October 18, 2021, the Nizhni Nóvgorod Regional Court declared the Male State movement extremist and banned its activity in Russia. Interfax reported the decision from the courtroom.
The ban confirms a resolution against the organization. It does not make it possible to deduce who currently uses its name, what structure it retains, or from where the notices have been sent to European airports.
6. What Pozdniakov responds to the suspicions
Pozdniakov has denied his involvement. According to Meduza, which gathers the information from Russian BBC and a publication from its channel, it says that he has not been linked to the movement since 2019 and that it ceased to exist in 2021.
His version is that other people would be acting under an outside name. The Russian BBC also contacted a Telegram account linked from its channel, whose response denied the current existence of the group.
That denial must be included in the information, but it does not amount to a police conclusion. The signature on the emails and the denial are elements that must be checked against each other; they are not sufficient proof to close the investigation in one direction or another.
7. Why talk of a possible hybrid operation
A false threat can have consequences without an artifact existing: it forces risks to be assessed, aircraft to be inspected, operations to be modified, and personnel to be mobilized. That difference between the cost of sending the notice and the resources needed to respond helps to understand European concern.
The term hybrid threat is used to describe actions of pressure or destabilization that do not necessarily take the form of a conventional military attack. In this case, some political officials have interpreted the episodes from that perspective.
The Spanish foreign minister, José Manuel Albares, has described them as a form of hybrid aggression and psychological warfare. Reuters cites those statements, but it also notes that it had been unable to establish the identity of the senders or link all the messages to a single source.
There are, therefore, two distinct levels: the destabilizing effect of the warnings and the identity of whoever issues them. That the first is visible does not resolve the second. The Russian origin of the movement also does not prove that the Russian government directed this wave.
8. What the European Union is doing
The European Commission has activated an information-sharing mechanism on air safety among member states. The Transport Commissioner, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, explained that national investigations are ongoing and that it was still too early to conclude whether the incidents were related.
The coordination seeks to share what happened in different countries, in contact with the authorities involved and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
Associated Press also reported the preparation of a meeting of European aviation and security specialists for the following week. The checks reported had not located any suspicious objects nor recorded injuries in the incidents described.
Activating that coordination does not mean that Brussels has identified a person responsible. It is a response to the succession of alerts and their cross-border dimension.
9. Why a false alert is taken seriously
Authorities can only rule out a threat after assessing it. That several previous warnings turned out to be false does not automatically allow the next one to be ignored.
Not all alerts require the same response. The available information, the location of the aircraft, and the security assessment condition the response. That is why this week there have been inspections at the destination, diversions, and military escorts.
The absence of explosives is the result of the checks carried out. It does not mean that the diversions or inspections were fictitious, nor that the authorities had known in advance that there was no danger.
For the passenger, the practical consequence may be a delay, a change of airport, or a landing while the aircraft is being reviewed. For investigators, the problem continues after the aircraft has been authorized to resume operations.
10. The uncertainties that remain open
Investigations must determine who sent the messages, whether there is coordination between countries, and what relationship the signed emails as Estado Masculino have with the other notices.
They must also distinguish a possible original campaign of threats from potential imitations. Using the same name does not prove that all the messages come from the same person or structure.
Uncertainty expanded on Friday, when the threats also reached media outlets. AFP reported evacuations and safety measures in Irish newsrooms, including the public broadcaster RTÉ. The extension to new recipients adds episodes to be investigated, but it does not establish a common authorship by itself.
As of the information verified for this piece, Estado Masculino continued to be a name used in some messages, not a responsibility demonstrated by the authorities.