Aer Lingus says pilot ‘acted impeccably’ on flight diverted by bomb threat amid France investigation

The pilot and co-pilot of an Aer Lingus flight that was forced to land at a French airbase on Thursday following a false bomb threat have been allowed to leave after questioning, authorities have said.

French investigators said they spoke to the men on Thursday after being told that the aircraft’s pilot had initially refused to comply with a request to land at the Évreux base.

“Investigations are still ongoing,” Rémi Coutin, public prosecutor for Évreux, told The Irish Times.

“The pilot and co-pilot have been authorised to leave French territory following their interviews yesterday.”

In a statement, Coutin said the investigation began after the prosecutor was “informed that the pilot of the aircraft had initially refused to comply with the French authorities’ request to land at Évreux, and that two fighter jets had to be dispatched to compel him to do so”.

It aims to establish whether the request to land was refused and “whether this behaviour was likely to constitute one or more criminal offences”, the statement added.

Two French fighter jets were deployed to escort the Aer Lingus flight to land at Évreux following the bomb threat. The flight had departed from Dublin on Thursday morning and was bound for Rome.

A copy of the bomb threat sent to Italian airports, published by news agency Ansa, stated that an explosive had been placed aboard the flight from Dublin and another from Helsinki as an attack against the “feminist regime”.

[ Irish passenger describes ‘terrifying’ incident as bomb threats affect almost 30 flightsOpens in new window ]

Passengers were disembarked from the aircraft at Évreux and their baggage was searched. No explosives were found.

The Aer Lingus pilot is an Irish national and the co-pilot is a British national, according to the Évreux prosecutor.

The aircraft’s black box is to be examined as part of the investigation.

In a statement on Friday, 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.”

Inquiries are continuing after almost 30 flights across Europe were disrupted by hoax bomb threats on Thursday.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee said the events, which come a week before more than 50 European leaders gather in Dublin for major summits, were “extremely concerning”.