European flights diverted again after fresh wave of hoax bomb threats

A flight from Ireland to Italy was diverted to a military airbase in western France on Thursday because of a bomb threat, the French prime minister’s office said.

The flight landed safely at the base in Evreux in Normandy, Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu’s office said. All 151 passengers and six crew members are safe and military bomb defusal teams are examining the plane.

The prime minister’s office said that it was following the situation in real time. No other information was immediately released.

Flight tracking sites showed that the Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome flight was approaching Paris when it turned sharply off its trajectory and made several loops before heading towards Evreux.

Several flights across Europe received hoax bomb threats this week that prompted searches, diversions and, in one case, an escort by the Italian air force until landing, officials said. The flights included Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair.

The hoax threats came a day after a plane headed for Bulgaria was diverted to Hungary after receiving a similar bomb threat while in the air. No one was injured.

Such threats are not a new phenomenon but come at a time of increased geopolitical tensions and signs of “disruption” such as attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems, drone incursions in Europe and mysterious triggers to alert apps.

While no country pointed fingers over the bomb threats, European officials have been blaming both Russia and Iran for what they describe as “hybrid attacks” and acts ‌of sabotage. Moscow and Tehran both deny ‌any such campaign.

“From railways to the food infrastructure that you see happening with the fridges being hacked and all kinds of other operations, it does fit the narrative of Russian state actors who want to disturb Europe,” said Eric Schouten, the head of aviation security group Dyami.