Breaking news. - Aircraft diverted to France as Europe reports string of bomb alerts

An Aer Lingus aircraft traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to France on Thursday and escorted by military aircraft after a suspected bomb threat, according to French authorities. The incident prompted a security response as the flight was redirected to an alternate destination for precautionary measures.

French authorities confirmed the aircraft landed safely at Évreux, with 151 passengers and 6 crew members brought to safety while bomb disposal teams were deployed on-site. The French Prime Minister’s office stated that the situation is being monitored as investigations continue.

Flight-tracking data attributed the diverted plane to Ireland’s flag carrier, Aer Lingus, though officials did not provide further details on the threat or the exact nature of the diversion. France’s air force indicated it had dispatched jets promptly after the threat emerged.

Reports from Italian media indicated bomb alerts on two flights bound for Rome and from Milan, while a Helsinki-to-Rome flight was escorted safely by Italian jets. Flightradar24 noted that no flights had taken off from Rome Fiumicino Airport, and that the reason for the disruption remained unknown at the time of reporting.

Separately, Bulgarian authorities reported bomb threats against three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia, with two planes from Copenhagen and Madrid reaching Sofia and a third from London diverted to Plovdiv. The incidents followed a wave of bomb-threat reports across Europe, which authorities characterized as malicious hoax threats in some cases.