An Airbus A320 carrying passengers from Dublin to Rome was diverted to Evreux Air Base in northern France after a bomb alert was received on Thursday morning, according to French media reports. The flight, operated by Aer Lingus, was scheduled to fly a direct route across the English Channel and the southern French coast before arriving in Rome.
French television channel TF1 and the prime minister’s office were both cited as sources monitoring the situation in real time, with officials confirming that the aircraft had entered northern French airspace and was guided to the airbase by air traffic control. The aircraft was seen turning back over southern Paris, circling several times, before ultimately heading north toward Evreux.
Flight Path and Actions Taken
Tracking information from Flightradar24 shows the A320 appeared to make several altitude adjustments and laid over the Paris region before steering toward the Normandy airbase. The Aer Lingus flight was reported to have returned to a North‑South heading that would bring it into the controlled airspace of Evreux.
While the specific nature of the bomb alert is not yet detailed, authorities at Evreux Air Base are arranged to inspect the aircraft for potential risks. The incident was described by French media as part of ongoing vigilance in European aviation security, with emergency teams ready to respond if additional information surfaced.
Monitoring and Response by French Authorities
French air traffic controllers and the prime minister’s office received the bomb alert and placed the flight on a monitored track. According to BFMTV and the prime minister’s office, the situation remained under observation from start to landing, with no escalation reported. The French government’s aviation security agencies stated that the aircraft “was handled without further incident.”
Multiple French officials emphasized that the decision to divert had been made with passenger safety as priority, and that the evraging route bypassed densely populated areas. While the aircraft was diverted to Evreux, the landing occurred before further threat was confirmed.
No passengers or crew were reported to have been harmed, and the jet landed at Evreux without incident, as per French media reports. The aircraft was inspected on the ground and cleared for departure toward Rome, though the defensive measures employed remain unspecified.
Investigations are expected to determine the source of the bomb alert, and French authorities will likely release more information as work on the incident proceeds. As of now, the incident was managed without casualties, but details about the threat, its origin, and whether any explosives were present or scanned remain unknown.
The final uncertainty, as identified by all reported sources, is the nature of the bomb alert itself—whether it was a false alarm, an actual threat, or an unrelated distraction—as well as whether any explosives were found on the aircraft. Further details will only arise once an official investigation concludes. The key unresolved aspects are the cause of the alert and the contents of any potential device, both of which remain unverified according to current reports.
