A passenger on an Aer Lingus flight that was escorted by fighter jets to a French airfield said his wife was “teary” thinking about their children, after a false bomb warning.
The Aer Lingus Airbus A320 left Dublin for Rome before being diverted to the Evreux air base in northern France, on Thursday, where it landed safely, after receiving a bomb threat.
Passenger describes moments of fear
John May was taking a trip with his wife, Emma Shanley May, to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. He said when they realised there was something wrong, their minds turned straight to their three children: Fionn, Sonny and Louie, whom they left at home.
“About an hour into the flight, the pilot called and said something like, ‘cabin crew come to the cockpit urgently’ and two of them ran up,” he said.
“So there was a bit of commotion, and they were in there for a couple of minutes and when they came out one of them looked quite really shook.
“When we didn’t know what was happening, people were a lot more on edge and worried.
“My wife was very worried, she was getting a bit teary because the kids were at home, so she was worried about the kids, and obviously when you think there’s something wrong with the plane, you can’t help but expect the worst.”
Technical issue and bomb threat revealed
He said at first they were in the dark about what was going on, until the pilot said there was a technical issue.
“We started circling. We just started going round and round, doing figures of eight and turns, and so we knew there was something wrong,” he said.
“And then probably about half an hour later, the pilot was like, ‘we’ve got a technical issue, which means we have to divert, and we’re going to land in a Paris airport’.
“It’s not what you want to hear when you’re on a plane that there’s a technical problem, so everyone was a bit nervous.”
Mr May said that after circling again for another half an hour, the pilot announced that air traffic control in France had informed him of a bomb threat, but that they said it was not credible.
Fighter jet escort and landing at military base
The pilot announced that they would land at an airport in France before refuelling and continuing to Rome.
“He was very calm. He was great. The pilot was brilliant,” the passenger said.
After continuing to circle, however, the plane was escorted by fighter jets to the Evreux air base in northern France.
“Then he came back on and said ‘okay, we are being forced to land at an airfield’,” he added.
“We could hear the jet over us when we were getting close to the air base and then when we were coming in, we were like, ‘this isn’t an airport, this is a military base because you could see the army planes on the runway’.
“When we started that final descent, we heard it, and we heard it quite close. And then when it peeled off before we were landing, it was super loud, like it was like on top of the plane. As soon as we landed, another fighter jet took off straight away on the runway.”
A statement from the French prime minister’s office said “the 151 passengers and six crew members were brought to safety and the bomb disposal teams intervened.”
Waiting for bomb squad and aftermath
According to Mr May, while the passengers were left waiting for the bomb squad, they were treated well by Aer Lingus and the French officials.
“So, when we landed, we were about two hours on the plane waiting for the bomb squad to arrive, they were supposed to be there in 40 minutes, then it was another hour, then a bit longer.
“Aer Lingus gave us some food and drinks, and then when the police were ready, we went out 10 at a time down the back steps, showed passports, took our carry on bags out, dogs went through the bags, then we put the bags in the field, and then met doctors and stuff and then we were put on a bus and we were brought to their gym in the air force base.
“So we spent all day in the gym at the air base.”
AP reported that after French authorities were informed of the bomb threat and ordered the plane to land in Normandy, the pilot apparently refused, and two warplanes were sent to escort it to Evreux.
The pilot and the English co-pilot were questioned as part of an investigation into what happened, a French regional prosecutor said.
An Aer Lingus spokesperson said: “Aer Lingus and its pilots fully co-operated with the French authorities regarding this matter, and the engagement of the pilots with the authorities has now concluded. Aer Lingus’ priority at all times is the safety of our passengers.”
The incident was one of at least 27 that saw flights targeted with bomb threats on Thursday, including services from Dublin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.
Mr May said that he understands why his flight was grounded even though the pilot was told the threat was not credible.
“The problem with this is there could be 1,000s of these, and they have to treat every single one like it’s real,” he said.
“At no point can they say, ‘oh there’s been 990, so let’s just forget about it.
“You can’t risk it, and the people who are doing these hoaxes know that, I presume.”
