The safety of 151 passengers and six crew members became the immediate concern when their Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French military airbase on 5 November 2026.
Italian authorities issued the bomb alert concerning the flight, BFMTV reported.
The Airbus A320, flight EI-DEH, also identified as EIN40G, had left Dublin bound for Rome. It crossed the English Channel on its usual route before veering south-west of Paris.
Flight tracking data showed the aircraft nearing Paris when it made a sharp turn from its trajectory, flew several loops and headed towards Évreux.
France's air force sent aircraft as soon as the incident was reported and escorted the Aer Lingus plane to Évreux airfield. A French Rafale fighter jet accompanied it on its approach.
The aircraft landed safely at the military airbase at Évreux in Normandy, the French Prime Minister's office confirmed. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's office said it was following the situation in real time.
A bomb squad unit was positioned at the base to inspect the aircraft. The passengers and crew were moved to a safe place after landing.
The diversion came during a wider run of bomb threats against European aviation. At least seven flights were searched or diverted after alerts on Tuesday, two days before the Aer Lingus incident. Those threats involved airlines including Poland's LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair, and each proved to be a hoax, with no devices found.
Four out of eight incidents during the week involved aircraft flying to or from Italy. Further threats on 5 November affected flights in Bulgaria and a Finnair service from Helsinki to Rome.
The aviation disruptions coincided with apparent cyberattacks on freezer units in major supermarkets and French bloodbanks. The incidents had potential hallmarks of so-called hybrid attacks intended to create maximum disruption with minimal effort and resources.
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