Aer Lingus Flight EI402 (operated by an Airbus A320) has landed safely at the Évreux-Fauville Air Base in Normandy, France, after declaring an in-flight emergency due to a bomb threat.
The aircraft departed Dublin Airport at 6:24 AM, bound for Rome Fiumicino Airport. While over France, the flight issued an emergency squawk 7700, turned near Paris, and was escorted to the French military airbase by a French Rafale fighter jet.
All 151 passengers and 6 crew members on board have been evacuated safely to a secure location on the airbase. Aer Lingus has stated they are working to re-accommodate passengers to their final destinations as quickly as possible.
This emergency landing comes amidst an unprecedented wave of aviation disruptions across Europe: Just two days prior, seven passenger flights operated by airlines including Ryanair, LOT Polish Airlines, SAS, and Wizz Air were targeted by a series of malicious, anonymous hoax bomb threats.
Security experts and European authorities are actively investigating whether these widespread hoax alerts are tied to broader hybrid cyber or digital targeting campaigns. Two Ryanair flights were also impacted by bomb threats:
- Finnair (Flight AY1761): Traveling from Helsinki to Rome Fiumicino, the flight received a bomb threat, was escorted by Italian air force fighter jets, and landed safely in Rome where nothing suspicious was found.
- Ryanair (Flights FR6410 & FR3606): Flights originating from Madrid and Copenhagen heading to Sofia, Bulgaria, were forced to make emergency landings at Sofia Airport.
- Ryanair (Flight FR1730): En route from London Stansted to Sofia, this flight was diverted and landed safely at Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria.
- Wizz Air (Flight W46387): Flying from Milan to Warsaw, this flight was forced to divert and land in Vienna, Austria.
- LOT Polish Airlines: Reported threats were made against a flight heading to Brussels, as well as four flights heading to Prague. Subsequent searches confirmed that no suspicious items were found.
