Hoax bomb alert on Dublin flight

A couple questioned by French police following a hoax bomb alert on a Dublin-bound flight were released without charge yesterday.

The married couple, believed to be in their 20s and living in Co Limerick, flew into Dublin Airport last night, a day after their Naples-Dublin flight was diverted to Lyon, France.

Cabin crew on board the Boeing 737, which was carrying 140 passengers, found a note in a toilet which read: "Bomb 11 September."

The aircraft chartered by Dublin-based travel company, Topflight, made an emergency landing at Saint Exupéry Airport in Lyon. The jet was grounded for four hours while French police searched through baggage and questioned some passengers. Nothing suspicious was found. However, the Irish couple were held for questioning.

Passenger Mr Paddy Carroll, who runs the Rainbow Record shop in Carlow, was seated beside the couple during the flight. He said many passengers were traumatised by the emergency landing.

"We landed very quickly, which was pretty scary. We could see the cabin crew were rushing around. We dropped thousands of feet in just a few seconds.

"There were people crying and others were in hysterics. They didn't tell us what was happening when we began to land, which is the emergency procedure," the father-of-four said.

"Once we landed the pilot made an announcement that there had been a bomb threat. The hardest part was sitting there waiting to be left off. Some of the passengers ran away from the plane once we were landed."

A spokeswoman for Saint Exupéry Airport said an emergency plan had been activated when the aircraft came in to land.

The aircraft was brought to a secure area, away from the main terminal building, and passengers were accommodated in a hangar.

Mr Carroll said the couple were quickly identified by French police when they boarded the plane. Topflight said the couple were not arrested, although they were questioned for some time by police, and later released without charge.

Mr Carroll said he did not notice any suspicious activity on the aircraft before the note was discovered.

"I offered my seat to them because they were sitting apart, but they declined. The man seemed quite nervous during take-off and never left his seat," he said.

The couple travelled back to Dublin Airport yesterday aboard an Aer Lingus flight from Lyon, according to French authorities.