LONDON — A passenger plane traveling from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French air base on Thursday after French officials said it received a “bomb alert.”
“Flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Normandy this morning as a safety precaution,” Aer Lingus said in a statement, adding that the aircraft landed safely.
Earlier, French Prime Minister Sebastien Le Cornu’s office said it was monitoring the situation following what it called a “bomb alert”.
Tracking website FlightRadar24 showed that just over an hour into the flight, the Airbus 320 was flying normally, cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet west of Paris. It then began its descent and made a series of loops before landing at Evrefour Air Force Base.
Including Thursday’s incident, at least nine flights in Europe have been hit with bomb threats this week, forcing some flights to be rerouted and airports in Poland to be temporarily closed. According to various authorities, no explosive devices have been found.
Security operations were also launched at the port of the Greek island of Syros on Tuesday after a bomb threat was made against a cruise ship bound for Israel. Authorities said an unidentified person claimed an explosive device was mounted on the hull of the Panamanian-flagged Crown Iris cruise ship, which was due to sail to Haifa.
Authorities have not said who was behind the incidents, and no one has claimed responsibility.