Air Traffic Disruption: Dublin-to-Rome Jet Diverted to Normandy
An Aer Lingus aircraft landed at a French military base after a bomb threat, adding to a week of widespread aviation alerts across Europe.
By Layla Fontaine ·
Approximately ten European flights faced bomb threats on Tuesday, setting the stage for a continued wave of aviation disruptions that continued into Thursday. The most recent incident involved an Airbus A320 operating between Dublin and Rome, which was rerouted to the Evreux airbase in Normandy, France.
The diversion followed a declared in-flight emergency. Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed the Aer Lingus aircraft turning near Paris and circling the Evreux area before its landing. The French Prime Minister's office confirmed the move, stating that Sébastien Lecornu’s team is monitoring the situation. No additional details were released immediately after the landing.
This event marks the latest in a series of threats targeting air travel across the continent. The pattern of incidents began earlier in the week with a plane headed for Bulgaria being diverted to Hungary due to a similar alert. No injuries were reported in that instance, nor in the subsequent Tuesday events.
On Tuesday, authorities reported seven flights and one cruise ship received bomb threats. The disruptions forced a brief closure of an airport in Warsaw and prompted the Italian Air Force to scramble jets in Rome. Airlines affected included LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air, and Ryanair. No explosive devices were found in any of these cases.
Thursday brought further complications in Belgium, Bulgaria, and Italy. Belgian media reported that a LOT airline aircraft was forced to land at Brussels' Zaventem airport. In Italy, a Finnair plane departing Helsinki was escorted to its scheduled destination in Rome by the Italian Air Force, according to a source close to the matter.
Bulgarian officials reported three emergency landings due to bomb threats. The Interior Minister told broadcaster bTV that aircraft flying from Copenhagen and Madrid landed in Sofia. A third plane, originating from London, touched down in Plovdiv, according to local media reports.
European officials have recently attributed these disruptions to hybrid attacks and sabotage efforts, citing Russia and Iran as potential sources. Both Moscow and Tehran have denied leading such a campaign. The threats coincide with a series of cyber incidents, including hackers shutting down supermarket refrigerators in several European countries this week. Experts suggest the low-cost, deniable nature of the bomb threats fits a similar pattern of disruption.
