An Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome was diverted to a French military air base on Thursday after a bomb threat, part of a coordinated wave of hoax threats that disrupted air travel across Europe.

Flight EI402, an Airbus A320 carrying 151 passengers and six crew, left Dublin Airport at 6.23am bound for Rome Fiumicino. It landed safely at Évreux-Fauville air base in Normandy, where French authorities sent a bomb squad to inspect the aircraft. Passengers were moved to a safe location.

The French Prime Minister's office said the situation was being monitored. Aer Lingus confirmed the flight landed safely "as a security precaution" and said it would work to reaccommodate customers.

A passenger on the flight, Emily Noble, 26, from Dublin, said she was about an hour into the journey when the pilot announced a security issue. Passengers waited on board for two and a half hours while police and military personnel, including sniffer dogs, carried out checks. They were later told they would be taken to an airport in Paris and flown to Rome on another plane. Noble said she could hear fighter jets during the landing and saw one touch down behind the aircraft.

The diversion was one of at least 18 flights across Europe affected by bomb threats on Thursday, coming two days after a similar series of alerts. No explosives were found on any aircraft, and authorities in multiple countries described the threats as hoaxes.

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the threats were "malicious hoax threats" and that established processes were in place. A UK government spokesperson said the threats reported in the early hours had been resolved. Heathrow and Birmingham airports received threats that were assessed as not credible.

In Italy, airport authorities said hoax threats against two inbound flights had come by email, signed on behalf of a group calling itself "Fighters of the Male State". The email threatened to "turn the skies red" with explosions and claimed to be targeting a "feminist regime". The group is likely linked to a Russian ultra-right organisation banned in 2021.

The affected flights included services by Ryanair, Finnair, Wizz Air, LOT, EasyJet, Aegean Airlines, Air Serbia and Iberia, operating between airports across Europe. Some flights were escorted by military jets, and several were diverted or searched on landing.

No explosives or suspicious items have been reported on any of the searched aircraft. The Metropolitan Police's Aviation Policing Command said it was monitoring the situation and liaising with relevant authorities.

Experts said hoax bomb threats are common in aviation but the scale of this week's incidents was unusual. Authorities continue to investigate the source of the threats.