Multiple flights in Europe diverted after bomb threats
Several aircraft made emergency landings across France, Bulgaria and Belgium on Thursday following bomb threats, according to various reports.
Several flights across Europe were forced to make emergency landings on Thursday following bomb threats, according to reports from Rediff, New York Post and Deccan Herald. The incidents included diversions to France, Bulgaria and Belgium.
An Aer Lingus flight (EI402) travelling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to the Evreux military air base in Normandy, France. The flight landed safely with 151 passengers and six crew members, according to the office of French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Military bomb defusal teams were examining the plane.
In Bulgaria, three Ryanair flights bound for Sofia were forced to make emergency landings. Two flights, one from Copenhagen and another from Madrid, landed at Sofia’s Vasil Levski Airport. A third flight from London’s Stansted Airport was diverted to Plovdiv, where it landed safely, according to Plovdiv Airport CEO Krassimir Peshev.
Finnair Flight 1761 from Helsinki to Rome was also targeted by a bomb threat. The aircraft landed in Rome and was escorted by the Italian air force, though a subsequent inspection found nothing suspicious, according to Yle and Reuters. Additionally, a Polish carrier, LOT, was forced to land at Brussels’ Zaventem airport in Belgium.
The disruptions come as 12 European flights received bomb threats, according to AFP. These incidents follow similar threats earlier in the week, including a plane diverted to Hungary on Wednesday and at least seven flights receiving threats on Tuesday.