Aer Lingus New York flight in security alert

An Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin was evacuated during a scheduled stop at Shannon this morning after a threat was…

An Aer Lingus flight from New York to Dublin was evacuated during a scheduled stop at Shannon this morning after a threat was made against the aircraft.

The 239 passengers aboard the plane, Aer Lingus flight 112, were evacuated at 7.50am at Shannon airport.

"There was a security alert on board one of our flights from New York to Shannon after gardaí received a call at around 4 a.m.," a spokeswoman for Aer Lingus said.

"The aircraft made a normal landing at Shannon airport at 7.45am, and all passengers have disembarked the aircraft and are being interviewed in the terminal building."

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It is understood the evacuation was the result of a call made overnight to a Dublin Garda station in which the caller warned of explosives on board the flight.

No explosives were found in the initial search, but security officials decided to remove all baggage from the flight to be screened again; passengers were put on another flight.

"It wasn't an emergency landing. It wasn't a red alert. The flight was coming here anyway," an Aer Lingus spokesman said. The aircraft was parked at a remote stand as a precaution.