Some 20 flights were hit by hoax bomb alerts on Thursday, the third straight day of threats in Europe, with an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin to Rome diverted to the Evreux air base.

Three flights were diverted and all aircraft landed safely, with no explosives found, as fighter jets from Italy, France and Bulgaria were scrambled. Messages sent to operators of the Rome and Sofia airports claimed to come from the “fighters of the Male State,” a link AFP could not confirm, and EU transport commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas said it was too early to say whether the incidents are linked.