At least twenty-seven European passenger planes were forced to land following a series of suspected bomb threats on Thursday morning.
Earlier in the day, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's Office stated that an Airbus A320 plane flying from Dublin to Rome was diverted to France's Evreux airbase after a bomb alert.
The Aer Lingus flight landed safely at Evreux airport, 100 km west of Paris, the Irish airline said in a statement.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the Aer Lingus aircraft turned near Paris and was circling over the Evreux area after declaring an in-flight emergency.
Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) was reportedly temporarily closed due to the bomb threat.
At least 10 other planes diverted
Just over an hour later, at least 10 other planes were diverted.
Three aircraft were forced to land at Bulgarian airports following bomb threats, local media reported on Thursday, citing government ministers.
Two of the aircraft, flying from Copenhagen and Madrid, respectively, landed in Sofia, broadcaster bTV reported, citing the interior minister, while NOVA TV cited the transport minister. A third aircraft from London landed in Plovdiv, the reports said.
Separately, a flight operated by Polish airline LOT flying from Warsaw landed safely at Brussels Airport following a suspicious report, a source said on Thursday, confirming Belgian media reports.
Spokespeople for the airport told Belgian media that no additional security measures were necessary. The airport did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
A Finnair plane from Helsinki was also safely escorted to its scheduled landing in Rome by the Italian air force, a source close to the matter said.
An additional Finnair flight from Helsinki, operated by Jettime, landed as normal in Vienna on Thursday after receiving a bomb threat, a spokesperson for the Finnish carrier said.
Four airplanes heading to Prague received bomb threats on Thursday, and police were preparing for their landing, Czech police said on X, adding they assessed the credibility of the threats as low.
"Nevertheless, we are not underestimating the threat, which is why all necessary security measures have been activated with minimal impact on passengers and airport operations," police said. "After landing, all aircraft will undergo pyrotechnic inspections."
Moscow, Tehran deny involvement
On Tuesday, at least seven flights and a cruise ship received bomb threats, causing disruption at airports across Europe, although no devices were discovered.
While no country has attributed blame for the threats, they come at a time when 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.
This week, unidentified hackers shut down fridges in supermarkets in several European countries. Some experts said hoax bomb threats could be part of a similar pattern of low-cost, deniable disruption efforts.