Updated / Thursday, 5 Nov 2026 13:45

A still from a video taken from a plane showing a fighter jet outside

A French air force jet escorted the Aer Lingus plane to the air base

A passenger on an Aer Lingus flight, which was diverted due to a security threat this morning, has described seeing French air force jets escort the plane to an air field in France.

Aer Lingus Flight EI402 left Dublin Airport at 6.24am this morning, travelling to Rome Fiumicino Airport.

What had started off as trip to Rome for a friend's wedding ended up with an unexpected stopover in France.

Katie McAteer from Dublin and her five friends boarded their Aer Lingus flight to Rome this morning looking forward to the next few days, which would see them celebrating their friend's wedding in the Italian capital.

But around an hour and 15 minutes into the flight the pilot announced a problem with the plane and that they would have to land in Paris.

Ms McAteer said they were aware of security alerts on flights over the past couple of days, so that immediately came to her mind.

A group of people pose for a selfie at an airport
Katie McAteer and her friends before their flight took off from Dublin early this morning

"And then we saw like a fighter pilot flying right beside the plane. So I think at that point, we all kind of knew what was going on.

"And then a few minutes later, the pilot came back on again. He was a lovely guy... very, very informative and said... 'I'm sure you've all seen on the news what's happening'. But he did say it doesn't seem to be credible, but the French Air Force had asked them to land in an air base in France."

Watch: Fighter plane escorts Aer Lingus flight during security alert

Speaking to RTÉ's News at One, Ms McAteer said the plane had to circle for a while before eventually landing. They were sitting on the plane for about two hours waiting to see what would happen next.

She said once they were allowed disembark, they were all checked by sniffer dogs and their bags, which had to be left on the plane, were also checked.

"We've all been assessed to make sure we're okay. And now we're sitting in a gym waiting to see what happens next. They've given us some food and stuff like that. So yeah, madness."

The interior of a gym
The passengers are being accommodated in a gym at Evreux air base in France

Asked how she felt when she saw the planes outside the window, Ms McAteer said: "It was scary to be fair. It was. And I think none of us really knew what was going on at that point.

"But then, the pilot then did come on and say that the threat wasn't credible. So that was a little bit relieving. But yeah, it was terrifying."

Source: RTÉ News · Kate Egan

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