Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome flight diverted to French air base after bomb alert

Diversion to Évreux

An Aer Lingus Airbus A320, flight EIN40G, left Dublin for Rome and was redirected to the air base at Évreux in Normandy after a bomb alert on board. The office of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the diversion on Thursday, 5 November, and said the government was following the situation closely. When the announcement was made, the aircraft was flying over France and was about to begin its descent toward Évreux. Matignon, the prime minister's office, also told BFMTV that the situation was being followed in real time by the prime minister's services.

“The situation is being monitored in real time, as the procedures provide.”

Landing timing

Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, cited by Le Parisien, showed the aircraft had not yet touched down at 9:40 on Thursday morning. At that point its emergency landing was estimated at around 10:00 on the runways in Normandy. The articles reviewed do not say whether the aircraft had landed by the time of publication or whether anything was found on board. Reports place the diversion just days after a wave of bomb threats on flights in Europe.

Tuesday's wave of alerts

On Tuesday, 3 November, flights and a cruise ship were targeted by bomb alerts across Europe. Seven aircraft at several points in Europe had been searched or diverted after false bomb alerts, according to one report published two days before the Thursday diversion. 20 Minutes put the number of commercial flights at about ten, while LBC counted at least seven flights and a cruise ship, so the totals differ between reports. Authorities in the countries concerned said the alerts were false. At least four alerts involved Ryanair flights: Manchester to Murcia, Lisbon to Rome, Dublin to Rome and Dublin to Sofia. Two flights bound for Warsaw were also targeted, an SAS service from Copenhagen and a LOT flight from London Heathrow, along with a Wizz Air flight from Bergamo to Sofia.

Response and open questions

An airport in Warsaw was briefly shut during the Tuesday alerts, LBC reported, and the threats caused disruption at airports. The Italian Air Force accompanied one of the Tuesday flights to Rome, while an Israel-bound cruise ship was searched for bombs in Greece. No claim of responsibility has been reported, and officials did not attribute blame. The articles do not say who issued the alerts or whether the Thursday threat is linked to the Tuesday wave beyond timing.