Key facts
- Aer Lingus flight EI402, an Airbus A320, landed at Evreux airbase in Normandy after a bomb threat.
- The French prime minister's office said all 151 passengers and six crew members were safe.
- Military bomb defusal teams were examining the plane, the prime minister's office said.
- Aer Lingus said it would work to re-accommodate customers to their final destination.
- A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw made an emergency diversion to Vienna, the BBC reported.
An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Evreux military airbase in Normandy on Thursday after a bomb threat, the office of French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. The French prime minister's office said the flight landed safely and that all 151 passengers and six crew members were safe. Military bomb defusal teams were examining the plane, the office said, adding that it was following the situation in real time.
The flight, EI402, crossed the English Channel on a normal path toward Rome before turning southwest of Paris and diverting toward Evreux, the Guardian reported, citing the Flightradar24 tracking service. Aer Lingus said the flight "diverted to Normandy this morning as a security precaution" and that it would work to re-accommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible.
The diversion came two days after seven planes across Europe were searched or diverted after bomb threats, the Guardian reported. Those alerts affected flights operated by LOT Polish Airlines, SAS, Wizz Air and Ryanair, with two involving Rome Fiumicino airport. A Wizz Air flight from Milan to Warsaw also issued an emergency alert before diverting to Vienna, though the Press Association reported no report of a bomb threat and the reason was unclear.
Bomb threats forced airliners to make unplanned landings across Europe on Thursday morning, including a Finnair plane from Helsinki escorted to Rome by the Italian air force, according to the new development report. The incidents follow Tuesday's bomb threats against at least seven flights and a cruise ship, amid European officials' accusations of 'hybrid attacks' by Russia and Iran, which both deny.