Aer Lingus pilots 'cooperated fully' as flight diverted

Updated / Friday, 6 Nov 2026 08:40

The pilot and co-pilot of the Aer Lingus plane, which was diverted to a French airbase over a security alert yesterday, cooperated fully with French authorities, a union has said.

The office of the French Prime Minister had said that fighter jets were sent to intercept and escort Aer Lingus Flight EI402 after the pilot did not cooperate with authorities as expected.

A French regional prosecutor later said that the pilot and co-pilot were questioned as part of an investigation into what happened.

In a statement this morning, Aer Lingus said: "The captain and crew on Aer Lingus flight EI402 acted impeccably and were thoroughly professional throughout yesterday's security issue.

"Safety and the care of our passengers is Aer Lingus' top priority and this was upheld professionally by the captain and crew of the aircraft throughout in what were very challenging circumstances."

The Irish Airline Pilots' Association (IALPA) said the questioning of the pilot and co-pilot is "generally standard procedure following incidents of this nature occurring within French airspace".

It said both pilots "cooperated fully with the French authorities and are being represented in France by IALPA's sister union, the SNPL."

The Aer Lingus flight, which took off from Dublin Airport at 6.24am yesterday morning, en route to Rome, was diverted to a French air base after a security alert was raised.

There were 151 passengers and six crew on board.

Passengers spoke of seeing fighter jets escort the plane as it was diverted to Evreux air base, which is around 100k from Paris.

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Watch: Fighter plane escorts Aer Lingus flight during security alert

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IALPA said the primary responsibility of pilots is the safety of passengers, crew and the aircraft and that they have " clear legal responsibilities and authority in relation to the safe operation of their aircraft".

It added that in the case of an Irish-registered aircraft, those responsibilities are governed both by Irish law and those of the state in whose airspace the aircraft is operating.

IALPA said it "fully supports the pilots involved" and that it "is satisfied that their actions were consistent with their professional obligations and their overriding responsibility for aviation safety".

The union also said it is liaising "with the relevant parties to ensure that the pilots are fully supported and can return home safely today".

Yesterday, at least 27 flights were confirmed to have been targeted with bomb threats, including services from Dublin, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Madrid, Milan and Warsaw.

While no country has attributed blame for the threats, they come as many European officials are accusing Russia of masterminding sabotage and 'hybrid attacks' - which are often cheap, easily deniable and not expected to trigger an armed response.

Minister for Defence Helen McEntee said yesterday that the number of flights being searched because of potential bomb threats is "extremely concerning" in the week before Ireland hosts its biggest meeting of heads of state as part of Ireland's EU Presidency.

Next Thursday, Ireland will host the ninth meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at the Convention Centre in Dublin.

The minister said a lot of working is happening across the EU to establish whether the various threats are connected, adding "it’s really important that whoever is responsible for this, or whatever amount of people are responsible for this, that they’re identified as soon as possible, because of the disruption this is causing and the fear."

Additional reporting PA