SAS Launches Pre-Approval Process for Bomb Threats After Warsaw Landing

The queue at Warsaw Chopin Airport began forming before dawn on Wednesday, snaking past the currency exchange and ending at a new counter marked “Threat Resolution.” Staff handed out clipboards and pens while a digital sign above them scrolled through a list of flight numbers.

SAS and the airport announced the counter as part of a new policy after a wave of bomb threats disrupted several European flights this week, including an SAS aircraft that landed in Warsaw under escort. Effective immediately, all bomb threats must be pre-approved through an online portal at least 48 hours before departure.

The airline said the system would bring “operational certainty” to a process that had previously been chaotic. A would-be threat-maker must complete Form 26-B, a 26-page document covering intended flight, seat preference, detonation time, and a 500-word statement of intent.

A processing fee of 26 euros applies, payable by card or bank transfer. Threats submitted without payment will be returned as incomplete. Unapproved threats will not be recognized by the airline.

Lars Bjerregaard, SAS’s head of passenger experience, said the change was overdue. “We cannot run a schedule around unstructured threats,” he said. “A passenger who wishes to make a threat should plan ahead like everyone else.”

The portal also asks for a notarized signature and a copy of the passenger’s boarding pass. A help desk is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central European Time, excluding public holidays.

Aneta Kowalska, communications director for Warsaw Chopin Airport, said the new process had already reduced confusion. “Previously, a threat could arrive at any moment, from any direction,” she said. “Now it arrives with a reference number and a service-level agreement.”

Passengers reacted with a mixture of resignation and paperwork fatigue. Marek Nowak, who was waiting for a delayed flight to Stockholm, said he had opened the portal out of curiosity. “I got to page seven and it asked for my mother’s maiden name,” he said. “I wasn’t even trying to threaten anyone.”

The form’s terms and conditions include a clause stating that any approved threat becomes the intellectual property of SAS. The airline may use approved threats in future marketing campaigns, loyalty mailings, or in-flight safety videos.

Industry analysts were not surprised. Helena Vogel, an aviation consultant in Frankfurt, called the program “the logical endpoint of security theater as a subscription model.” She added that airlines have long wanted to bill for fear.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it had not endorsed the program but was “monitoring alignment with the Single European Sky initiative.” A spokesperson declined to say whether the agency had received its own form.

For passengers who prefer not to be involved in threats at all, SAS now offers a “Threat-Free” upgrade for 26 euros per segment. The upgrade does not change the flight or the aircraft; it simply moves the passenger’s name to a separate list.

A gate agent in Warsaw explained the benefit. “If a threat is pre-approved for your flight, we will notify you by email,” she said. “With Threat-Free, we will not.”

The airport has also installed a drop box near Gate 14 for unscheduled threats. A sign on the box, which is emptied each Wednesday, says those threats will be processed within five to seven business days.

SAS said early data showed a 26 percent reduction in spontaneous threats since the portal launched. At the same time, it reported a rise in what it called “pre-authorized non-threats,” passengers who fill out the form only to have the fee waived.

Bjerregaard acknowledged the imbalance. “We are working to distinguish a genuine threat from a customer simply exploring the platform,” he said. “Until then, the queue will remain.”