151 passengers on Dublin-Rome flight land at military base after bomb threat
More than a dozen European flights were diverted or searched on Thursday following a wave of threats that began earlier this week.
By Julian Schulz ·
One hundred and fifty-one passengers and six crew members landed safely at a military air base in western France on Thursday after a bomb threat forced a diversion from a Dublin to Rome flight.
The aircraft touched down at Evreux in Normandy, according to the office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Military bomb disposal teams began examining the plane immediately upon landing. The prime minister's office stated that officials are monitoring the situation in real time but released no further details.
The incident is one of more than a dozen confirmed bomb threats affecting flights across Europe on Thursday. Air traffic from Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan, and Warsaw was targeted. Authorities confirmed that most of these planes were diverted to other airports for emergency landings, while others proceeded to their destinations.
Inspections conducted so far have not revealed any hazardous or suspicious materials. Czech police reported that searches of four planes landing in Prague came back clear, though they did not specify the origins of those flights.
A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Rome landed at Leonardo da Vinci airport around 9:30 a.m., escorted by Italian air force fighter jets. An airport official with knowledge of the situation said an emailed bomb threat was received. Police bomb disposal experts completed security clearance procedures and found no explosives. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
In Vienna, police spokesperson Stefan Loidl said a flight to Warsaw landed in the city after a mail to Polish authorities contained an abstract threat. Nothing was found, and the plane continued to Warsaw. Loidl also noted an abstract threat regarding four other flights at Vienna Airport, though he did not identify them. Operations at the airport were not disrupted.
Polish authorities checked a LOT Polish Airlines flight departing Warsaw for Paris after a threat was reported at Chopin Airport. Airport spokesman Piotr Rudzki said no threat was ultimately identified. One runway at Chopin was temporarily closed while standard security procedures were carried out. A separate LOT flight from Warsaw to Brussels landed at its destination with no suspicious items found.
Three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, Bulgaria, made emergency landings. Two planes, one from Copenhagen and one from Madrid, landed safely at Sofia's Vasil Levski Airport. A third flight from London's Stansted Airport was diverted to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second-largest city. Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev confirmed the plane landed safely. Wizz Air also reported that a flight from Milan to Bucharest landed safely following a bomb threat, according to airport spokesman Teo Postelnicu.
These incidents follow a series of hoax bomb threats earlier this week that prompted searches, diversions, and a military escort. The latest disruptions occur amid increased geopolitical tensions and other incidents such as drone incursions and attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems. Authorities have warned that hybrid threats are common in the current environment.
