Bomb threats were reported on at least 25 flights across Europe on Thursday, and by evening it emerged that one of them had been headed for Ben Gurion Airport. Romania's intelligence service said a flight operated by Dutch airline KLM bound for Israel was diverted and landed in Bucharest following a bomb threat.
Sigal, a resident of Kibbutz Beit Nir, was the only Israeli passenger aboard Aer Lingus flight EI402, which was traveling from Dublin to Rome on Thursday morning when it was diverted for an emergency landing at a French air force base, escorted by fighter jets. "About an hour after takeoff, the pilot said there was a technical problem and that we had to land at Charles de Gaulle Airport," she recalled. "Four times, the plane descended to land and then climbed again. Eventually, a flight attendant explained that there had been a bomb threat and that we would be landing at a military airfield."
The flight from Dublin was one of at least 25 flights across Europe affected by security alerts Thursday. Some aircraft were diverted to alternate airports, while others, including the Aer Lingus flight, landed under fighter jet escort. In several cases, passengers were evacuated and security sweeps were conducted. Incidents were reported in France, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Romania, Austria and Denmark.
Sigal said she boarded the flight in Dublin at 6:25 a.m. "We took off for Rome on what was supposed to be a roughly three-hour flight, and after an hour, the pilot announced there was a problem. When he tried to land and pulled up several times, I started to worry. That alone was extremely stressful. Meanwhile, passengers sitting near me looked out the windows and were stunned to see fighter jets escorting us. After quite some time in the air without knowing what was actually happening, the pilot explained that because of congestion in the airspace over Charles de Gaulle, we would have to land at another airport."
At that point, Sigal approached a flight attendant, who told her the unusual situation was the result of a threat that a bomb had been planted aboard the aircraft. "I was in shock. I asked her, 'Are you kidding me?!' She replied that she was absolutely not joking, that this was the situation and that everything would be fine and we would land soon," Sigal recalled. "It turned out that we had indeed landed at a French air force base in Normandy, and only after two hours were we allowed to leave the plane. That was bizarre, too. If there was a bomb on board, we couldn't understand why they weren't evacuating us immediately."
Passengers of flight EI402 at the military base in France
When passengers were finally allowed to disembark, Sigal said they discovered that the aircraft had been isolated in an open area. They were instructed to collect their luggage and place it in a field, where security personnel inspected it with sniffer dogs. "I have to say that the preparations for our arrival were exemplary. Firefighters were on standby, along with medical teams and psychologists. They also took us to a military hangar, where they served us drinks and food provided by the military," she said, praising the French teams for their professional and dedicated response.
"We waited in the hangar until they arranged buses to take all of us to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, where a special aircraft was waiting to take us on to Rome," Sigal said. "It was a frightening experience, but everything is fine."
'Security threat'
The incident involving flight EI402 was among the most notable of the unusual events reported across Europe on Thursday. According to data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the pilots of the Airbus A320 transmitted emergency code 7700 while flying over France. The code indicates a general in-flight emergency and does not, by itself, identify the nature of the threat. The aircraft changed course near Paris, circled several times over France and was directed to land at Évreux-Fauville Air Base, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of the French capital.
Aer Lingus confirmed that the aircraft landed safely after being diverted as a security precaution. The office of French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the plane was carrying 151 passengers and six crew members, who were moved to a safe location. A bomb disposal unit was deployed to the base to inspect the aircraft.
Soldiers outside the aircraft: footage from flight LO331
It later emerged that the landing had been preceded by a confrontation between the pilot and French authorities. According to a statement from the local prosecutor's office to AFP, the Irish pilot allegedly initially refused to land at the Évreux air base, preferring to land at a civilian airport. In response, the French military scrambled two fighter jets to escort the passenger aircraft to the military base. Local prosecutor Rémi Coutin confirmed that an investigation had been opened into the pilot's conduct. He said the pilot would be summoned for voluntary questioning, after which authorities would decide whether to take him into custody for further questioning.
In another of the unusual incidents across European skies, a plane operated by Polish airline LOT landed safely in Belgium after departing Warsaw for Brussels on Thursday morning, following a security alert concerning the flight. The airline confirmed that an alert had been received but stressed that the threat had not been substantiated. In a separate incident involving the airline in Warsaw, an aircraft bound for Paris was stopped while taxiing for takeoff following a security alert. As a precaution, passengers were transferred to another aircraft.
One passenger on the Warsaw-to-Paris flight said, "The takeoff was canceled on the runway, and police officers, military personnel and sniffer dogs arrived to inspect us. All the passengers were evacuated to a separate hall." No unusual or dangerous items were found aboard the aircraft, and the passengers continued to Paris on another flight.