Key points
- An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the French military air base at Évreux, in Normandy, on Thursday, 5 November, after a bomb threat was reported during the flight.
- Flight EI402, carrying 151 passengers and six crew, was escorted by French military aircraft and landed safely; the French prime minister's office said everyone aboard was moved to safety and bomb disposal teams were examining the aircraft.
- No explosive device had been found at the time of reporting, no one had claimed responsibility, and officials had not attributed blame, Al Jazeera reported.
- The aircraft, registration EI-DEH, declared an emergency over northern France and circled near Paris before heading for Évreux, according to flight-tracking data.
- The diversion follows a wave of bomb threats against about ten European flights on Tuesday, which briefly closed an airport outside Warsaw and led the Italian air force to escort a Ryanair plane into Rome.
An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome has been diverted to a military air base in Normandy after a bomb threat was reported while the aircraft was over France, in the latest security scare to disrupt European air travel this week. Flight EI402, an Airbus A320, landed safely at Évreux-Fauville Air Base on Thursday morning, escorted by French military aircraft, and all 151 passengers and six crew were moved to safety.
The key figures
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Passengers aboard flight EI402 | 151 | French prime minister's office |
| Crew aboard | 6 | French prime minister's office |
| Flight | EI402, Dublin to Rome Fiumicino | Aer Lingus, via flight-tracking reports |
| Aircraft | Airbus A320-214, registration EI-DEH | AirLive |
| Landing | About 09:04 UK time, Évreux-Fauville Air Base | AirLive |
| European flights targeted by bomb threats on Tuesday | About 10 | Al Jazeera, citing authorities |
| Explosive devices found aboard EI402 | None announced | French authorities, via Gulf Today |
What happened on flight EI402
The threat was reported on Thursday morning while the aircraft was flying over northern France, and the crew declared a general emergency, broadcasting the transponder code 7700, according to flight-tracking reports. Air traffic control had alerted the crew to the threat, aviation reports said, and the aircraft turned near Paris, circled over the Évreux area, and then headed for the military base.
France's air force said it dispatched planes "as soon as the threat was reported" on Thursday, Al Jazeera reported. "The aircraft has been diverted and is being escorted to the Evreux airfield" west of Paris, the air force said. The office of Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said a bomb squad was in place at the airport, that the 151 passengers and six crew were moved to safety, and that the government was following the situation in real time.
The aircraft touched down on runway 04 at the Évreux base at about 09:04 UK time, according to AirLive, which tracked the flight. At the time of reporting, the authorities had not announced the discovery of any explosive device aboard the flight, the Associated Press reported, and the origin of the threat remained unclear. Aer Lingus had not issued a statement at the time of reporting, aviation outlet The Aviation Hub said.
A week of threats against European flights
Thursday's diversion came two days after a wave of bomb threats targeted about ten European flights on Tuesday, forcing the brief closure of an airport outside Warsaw and the scrambling of air force planes in Rome, according to the authorities cited by Al Jazeera. The flights included Polish airline LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair, the Associated Press reported, and in one case the Italian air force escorted a plane until landing.
In a separate incident on Thursday, Bulgaria reported that three aircraft requested emergency landings because of bomb threats, Al Jazeera reported, citing local media. Whether Thursday's threats are linked to Tuesday's wave remained unclear at the time of reporting, and no one had claimed responsibility for any of them.
What happens next
Bomb disposal teams are continuing to examine the aircraft at Évreux, and there was no word at the time of reporting on when the passengers would continue to Rome. Europe Unfolded will report the outcome of the search, and any statement from Aer Lingus or the French authorities, as they are confirmed.
Updates & corrections
Published 5 November 2026.
No updates or corrections have been made to this article since publication.
Sources
- Al Jazeera, "Bomb threat diverts Dublin-Rome flight to France", 5 November 2026, on the diversion and the French air force escort, the 151 passengers and six crew moved to safety, no claim of responsibility, and the Tuesday wave of threats and the Bulgaria reports: aljazeera.com
- Associated Press, via Arab News, "Bomb threat forces Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome flight to divert to a French military air base", 5 November 2026, on the prime minister's office account, the safe landing at Évreux and the bomb disposal teams examining the aircraft: arabnews.com
- Reuters, via Channel News Asia, "Dublin-Rome flight diverted to France over bomb threat", 5 November 2026, on the diversion to Évreux airbase and the Tuesday wave of bomb threats against European flights: channelnewsasia.com
- Associated Press, via Gulf Today, "Bomb threat forces Aer Lingus Dublin-Rome flight to divert to a French military air base", 5 November 2026, on no explosive device announced, and the Tuesday flights including LOT, Scandinavian Airlines, Wizz Air and Ryanair: gulftoday.ae
- The Aviation Hub, "Aer Lingus Flight from Dublin: Emergency Due to Bomb Threat", 5 November 2026, on the emergency declaration, the 09:04 landing, the aircraft registration EI-DEH, and that no Aer Lingus statement had been seen: theaviationhub.co.uk
- AirLive, "Aer Lingus EI402 from Dublin is declaring an emergency due to bomb threat and diverting to France", 5 November 2026, on the squawk 7700 declaration, the diversion to Évreux-Fauville and the runway 04 touchdown: airlive.net