Multiple reported bomb threats to flights for second time in a week
One of the flights affected was travelling from Dublin to Rome when it was diverted to an airfield in northern France.
Multiple flights were diverted across Europe on Thursday morning after a further series of bomb threats.
The incidents come after several planes, including some departing from the UK and Ireland, were subject to hoax security alerts on Tuesday.
At least eight flights were confirmed to have been targeted with bomb threats on Thursday, including services from Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.
Among them was a Ryanair flight from London Stansted Airport heading for Bulgarian capital Sofia, which was diverted and landed safely in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, according to AP.
Most diverted to other airports for emergency landings while others landed safely at their destinations.
One flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to an airfield in northern France amid a bomb alert on Thursday.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told reporters she was aware that a “small number of flights” had been disrupted on Thursday.
She added: “We do have some of the most robust aviation security systems anywhere in the world and we have established processes for dealing with hoax and malicious threats, and that’s what these threats have been.”
Ms Alexander said the UK took these threats “seriously”, adding: “But we understand that these have been malicious hoax threats.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “Threats reported in the early hours of this morning have been resolved.
“It’s right that authorities treat any potential threats seriously – the UK has one of the most robust aviation security systems in the world, with well-tested processes for dealing with any threats, as well as malicious hoaxes, like those we’ve seen this week.
“The Met’s Aviation Policing Command continues to monitor the situation and liaise with the relevant authorities.”
A statement from the French prime minister’s office said the A320 aircraft was diverted to the Evreux air base and landed safely.
“The 151 passengers and six crew members were brought to safety and the bomb disposal teams intervened,” the statement added.
Aer Lingus said: “Aer Lingus flight EI402 from Dublin to Rome diverted to Normandy this morning as a security precaution.
“The flight landed safely and Aer Lingus will work to reaccommodate customers to their final destination as soon as possible.”
Finnish airline Finnair confirmed two of its flights, one from Helsinki to Rome and another from Helsinki to Vienna, had also faced “unfounded or hoax” bomb threats on Thursday.
Both aircrafts landed at their destinations and passengers disembarked safely, the company said.
In Rome, the Finnair plane was inspected and nothing out of the ordinary was found, while checks on the aircraft in Vienna are continuing.
There were 144 passengers and seven crew members aboard the flight to Rome and 177 passengers and six crew on the Vienna flight, the airline said.
WizzAir said two of its flights had been the subject of bomb threats on Thursday – one from Milan to Bucharest which landed safely at its destination, and another scheduled to fly from Milan to Warsaw which landed safely in Vienna after it was diverted.
The airline said it was “co-operating fully with the relevant authorities” and taking “all necessary steps to ensure the safety of everyone onboard”.
It added: “The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.”