Hoax bomb alert prompts evacuation of Aer Lingus flight

Gardaí say a bomb alert that forced the evacuation of an Aer Lingus flight at Shannon Airport this morning was a hoax.

The flight from New York was evacuated when it landed just before 8am due to a bomb threat issued to the 999 service by a man claiming to be a member of al-Qaida.

All 239 passengers were held in the terminal building while gardaí searched the plane but the alert has now been declared a hoax.