NATO allies have scrambled fighter jets after multiple passenger flights across Europe were subject to bomb threats. France, Bulgaria and Italy all dispatched jets in response to the reports with more than 10 flights believed to have been targeted.
The French air force said its jets were launched on Thursday morning after an Aer Lingus flight carrying 151 passengers and six crew reported a bomb alert. The jets were scrambled to intercept the aircraft which was diverted and escorted to a French military base in Évreux, Normandy, an air force spokesperson.
The Aer Lingus flight was travelling from Dublin to Rome when it was diverted. Flight-tracking data showed the plane was approaching Paris when it abruptly turned off its trajectory and made several loops before heading toward Évreux.
Passengers and crew on board the Airbus A320 were moved to safety, while the airline confirmed the diversion was a security precaution. Meanwhile, another flight bound for Rome was escorted by Italian figher jets following a bomb report.
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Two Italian Eurofighters are said to have escorted the Finnair flight, which had taken off from Helsinki, to Fiumicino Airport. A spokesperson for Aeroporti di Roma told BBC News the aircraft landed at about 09:30am.
Aer Lingus flight #EI402 (Dublin – Rome) is diverting to Evreux Fauville Air Base, with squawk 7700. https://t.co/acg3BCwzKM
Police bomb disposal experts were deployed and reportedly found no explosives. It is said there has been no impact on airport operations.
Meanwhile, fellow NATO ally Bulgaria also scrambled fighter jets after bomb threats were made against three flights heading to the country. The Bulgarian air force said the MiG-29s took off from a base at 10:11am local time to “intercept and escort the civilian aircraft”.
The air force said one of the passenger planes landed at Plovdiv Airport, with the remaining aircraft touching down at Vasil Levski Airport in the capital Sofia. All three of the aircraft are operated by Ryanair.
No explosives were found on the planes that landed in Sofia, according to reports. The flights had earlier taken off from Madrid and Copenhagen. The flight which landed in Plovdiv departed from London Stansted.
The incidents are among a wave of bomb threats against passenger planes across Europe. Twelve flights have reportedly been targeted by the threats on Thursday.
It comes after at least seven flights were affected by similar threats on Tuesday. No explosives were found.
Czech authorities also confirmed threats about an “improvised explosive device” were reported against four flights heading to the capital Prague. No explosives were found on the aircraft, a Czech police spokesperson told the CTK news agency.
Airline Wizz Air also confirmed one of its passenger planes had been diverted to Vienna after receiving a bomb threat. The aircraft had been travelling from Milan Malpensa to Warsaw.
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