Last week, I covered how dozens of flights across Europe were faced with bomb threats. It was clearly a hoax, but these have to be taken seriously, and we saw all kinds of diversions, flight cancelations, and more.
Europe’s largest union representing pilots is now sharing the details of an incident that happened with one of these diversions, whereby an Aer Lingus flight was forced by fighter jets to divert to a French military base. When the pilots weren’t comfortable doing so, they were reportedly threatened with criminal charges.
Aer Lingus flight forced to divert to French military base
This incident happened on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and involves Aer Lingus flight EI402, scheduled to operate from Dublin (DUB) to Rome (FCO). The Airbus A320 with the registration code EI-DEH took off at 6:40AM local time, and made its way southeast toward Rome.
The A320 flew for around an hour, and made it just past Paris, when the plane changed heading and prepared to divert. French fighter jets had been deployed to escort the aircraft, and demanded that it divert to a French military base. Specifically, the plane diverted to Évreux-Fauville Air Base (EVX), located in Normandy.
The plane touched down there at 10:05AM local time, 2hr25min after it first departed (there was a one hour time change). Coincidentally, that’s basically the same flight time as it would’ve been to Rome, as the aircraft had to hold for an extended period of time.
The plane ended up returning to Dublin later in the day, departing at 4:59PM local time, and landing in Dublin at 5:20PM local time, after a flight time of 1hr21min. So passengers spent nearly 12 hours on the plane, only to end up back where they started. Man, that’s rough, especially when you consider these A320s don’t have power ports, Wi-Fi, etc.
Aer Lingus pilots tried to refuse the diversion, were threatened
Here’s where the story gets really interesting, as explained by the European Cockpit Association (ECA), which represents over 44,000 pilots across Europe, including pilots at Aer Lingus. The union is expressing serious concerns about how this incident was handled.
What happened is that the Aer Lingus pilots didn’t want to divert to Évreux-Fauville Air Base, because they didn’t have the necessary operational information and aeronautical charts to land there. They requested a landing at another airport, but were rejected. According to the pilots, they were even threatened with criminal charges if they didn’t divert to the airport as requested.
That’s the point on which the union is sounding the alarm. Let me just quote the union on this:
As representatives of the pilot profession, ECA, IALPA and SNPL fully recognise and appreciate the assistance provided by authorities in responding to these threats and supporting flight crews in bringing their passengers and aircraft to safety.
However, reports indicate that, in certain circumstances, military aircraft have intercepted civilian airliners and directed aircraft commanders to land at specific airports without adequately considering aircrafts’ operational and safety requirements.
According to information received by IALPA, in one recent incident involving an Aer Lingus aircraft, military fighter aircraft directed the flight crew to divert to a military airfield for which they did not have the necessary aeronautical charts and operational information to safely conduct a landing. Despite the flight crew seeking an alternative and more suitable diversion airport, their request was refused.
ECA, IALPA and SNPL are also alarmed by subsequent reports that the pilots were apparently faced by the prospect of possible criminal prosecution for actions that were, at all times, aimed at protecting their passengers, crew and aircraft.
The union emphasizes that the captain of a flight should have the ultimate responsibility for the safety of passengers, crew, and the aircraft, and that the captain is uniquely positioned to assess the operational circumstances and determine the safest course of action, taking account of all relevant factors, including aircraft performance, available aeronautical information, airport suitability, operational limitations, and the availability of emergency assistance on the ground.
The union points out how the prospect of criminal prosecution against pilots exercising their professional judgment in such circumstances risks undermining aviation safety, and the effective cooperation between flight crews and authorities.
Bottom line
An Aer Lingus A320 was recently forced to divert to a military base in France, after the aircraft faced a bomb threat (which also impacted dozens of other flights). Fighter jets reportedly demanded the plane divert to this airport despite objections from the pilots, who felt they didn’t have sufficient operational information and aeronautical charts to land there.
The union representing pilots claims that the pilots were threatened with criminal charges if they didn’t divert there, which the union believes undermines the responsibility that pilots should have over the safety of their aircraft.
I fully side with the pilots and union here. It’s silly to me that a bomb threat that’s an obvious hoax puts pilots in a situation where they don’t feel comfortable landing at, with no alternatives offered.
What do you make of this Aer Lingus pilot situation?
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