An Aer Lingus flight travelling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to France on Thursday after a suspected bomb threat and landed under military escort, French authorities said. The aircraft came down safely at Évreux with 151 passengers and six crew members aboard, all of whom were brought to safety, according to a statement from the office of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu cited by Euronews.com.
The diversion was one of several security scares reported across Europe the same day. Bomb alerts were also reported on flights in Italy, Austria and Bulgaria, and on two departures from UK airports, according to Sky News.
Why it matters
The day's disruptions point to a pattern rather than an isolated scare. According to Euronews.com, roughly ten European flights were hit by bomb threats on Tuesday, a wave that briefly shut an airport in Warsaw and prompted Italy to send fighter jets into the air over Rome. Thursday's alerts suggest that pressure on carriers and airports has not eased, and they show how quickly a single threat call can pull military aircraft into civilian airspace and close terminals.
The episode also underlines how much of Europe's short-haul network is exposed. The flights affected on Thursday touched Ireland, France, Italy, Finland, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain and the UK — a spread that leaves little room to treat any single alert as a local matter.
How the French diversion unfolded
France's air force said it sent planes "as soon as the threat was reported", according to Euronews.com. Lecornu confirmed the aircraft had landed safely at Évreux, that everyone on board had been taken to a place of safety, and that bomb disposal teams were working at the scene.
Flight tracking services identified the diverted plane as belonging to Aer Lingus, Ireland's flag carrier, Euronews.com reported. The Irish Times and BBC both reported that the flight was bound for Rome from Dublin and was diverted because of a bomb threat.
Alerts reported on other routes
Italian media reported bomb alerts on two flights connected to Rome and on a service departing Milan, according to Euronews.com. A flight from Helsinki to the Italian capital landed safely after being escorted by Italian jets.
Flightradar24, the tracking site, said no departures had left Rome Fiumicino Airport and that the cause of the disruption was not yet known, Euronews.com reported.
A spokesperson for Finnair, Finland's flag carrier, said a bomb threat had also been made against a Helsinki–Vienna flight operated by Jettime, and that the plane touched down in the Austrian capital without incident.
In Bulgaria, the transport ministry said threats had been made against three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia. Two of them — one from Copenhagen and one from Madrid — reached the capital, while a third, from London, was sent instead to Plovdiv, according to Euronews.com.
What to watch
Authorities have not said who is behind the alerts or whether the incidents are connected. The immediate focus is on the bomb disposal operation at Évreux and on whether Italian officials can explain the halt in departures from Fiumicino.
