Plane flying from Dublin to Rome diverted to Evreux base after bomb threat

Matignon is monitoring the situation “in real time”. An A320 airliner linking Dublin to Rome was diverted to Evreux air base (Eure) following a bomb threat, the Prime Minister's services said on Thursday, November 5. The aircraft landed there shortly after 10 a.m. “The 151 passengers and 6 crew members are brought to safety” while “the mine clearance teams intervene,” continued this source.

The Irish pilot "would have refused" to land on the Evreux military base, the Evreux prosecutor's office announced to AFP, "preferring a civilian airport". The French army therefore mobilized two planes – a Rafale and a Mirage – to escort the Airbus to air base 105 of the Air and Space Force. The public prosecutor, Rémi Coutin, visited the site. The Irish pilot “will be heard in a free hearing and I will decide later on possible custody,” the magistrate told AFP.

“The Prime Minister immediately ordered that fighter planes intercept the aircraft and escort it”, specifies Matignon, “the pilot having not cooperated as expected with the authorities”. The Airbus landed “without incident”, again according to this source. The passengers were disembarked little by little after numerous security checks and they are now gathered in a gymnasium, before the plane is fully checked, France 3 Normandie learned from a judicial source. It is possible that they will spend the night in Evreux depending on how the situation develops.

At least 12 European flights were the subject of bomb threats on Thursday and several planes were escorted by fighter jets while two flights were diverted, authorities and airlines said. On Tuesday, around ten commercial flights were targeted by similar alerts. They turned out to be false, according to the authorities of the countries concerned. On Monday, a Wizz Air flight connecting Luton Airport in London to Sofia (Bulgaria) was diverted due to a bomb threat. The plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Budapest.