The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, the military police force responsible for security at Amsterdam Schiphol, arrested a 45-year-old man of Czech nationality at the airport on the evening of Thursday 5 November 2026. He is suspected of making a false bomb threat against a departing flight to Prague, a Marechaussee spokesperson confirmed to public broadcaster NOS1. According to the spokesperson, the man made the threat verbally at the gate, to staff working the Amsterdam to Prague flight2. He held a ticket for that flight himself1.

Aircraft cleared and departed late

The aircraft was checked and no bomb was found on board, after which it left for the Czech Republic somewhat behind schedule31. The spokesperson could not say which flight was involved. Citing Schiphol departure data, regional broadcaster NH reports that it was probably KLM flight KL13613. The man was released on Friday afternoon1. The Marechaussee said it is not yet known whether he will be prosecuted, or whether he is still in the Netherlands2.

A threat at the gate, not an anonymous email

The arrest came in a week of hoax bomb threats against passenger flights across Europe1. On Friday morning a threat was also received for KLM flight KL1352 from Prague to Amsterdam. The aircraft landed at Schiphol at 10:25 and the Marechaussee found no explosives on board41. On Friday, Czech police also investigated threats against nine flights to and from Prague45. The Prague threats were anonymous5, and those made on Thursday against four flights heading to Prague arrived by email6. They are being investigated by the Czech national unit against terrorism, extremism and cybercrime (NCTEKK)5.

The Schiphol case is different in form: according to the Marechaussee, the threat was made in person by a man who was booked on the flight1. As far as is known, no bomb has been found in any of the recent cases17.

Hoax threats at Schiphol were already rising

False bomb threats at the airport itself are not new. The Marechaussee counted 25 bomb threats at Schiphol in 2024, an average of one every two weeks. By June 2025 the count for that year had already reached 27, a Marechaussee officer told NH at the time8. According to the force, threats come in at check-in desks, at security screening, by phone and by email, and officers respond to every one, for example with an explosives detection dog8.

A false bomb threat in the Netherlands can lead to a fine of 500 to 25,750 euros and a prison sentence of up to four years. Anyone who makes one can also be placed on an airline's blacklist8. In March 2021 the North Holland district court sentenced a 55-year-old man to six months in prison for a false bomb threat at Schiphol that forced the evacuation of a KLM aircraft bound for Stockholm. The sentence matched what prosecutors had sought9.