Two Paris-bound Air France flights diverted after reported bomb threat

On Tuesday, two Air France flights from the United States to Paris were diverted due to bomb threats, according to officials.

The first aircraft, out of Los Angeles, had landed in Salt Lake City (Utah), but left five hours later for Paris- the time to “make a complete check of the aircraft, passengers and their baggage”, in the words of a company spokesman.

The second affected flight, Flight 55, headed out to Paris from the Dulles worldwide Airport just outside Washington D.C. The airplane landed in the Halifax global Airport at Nova Scotia, where a total of 262 passengers and crew members were able to safely disembark.

Flight 65 immediately diverted to Salt Lake City in Utah and flight 55 was diverted to Halifax on the east coast of Canada.

Keith Rosso, another passenger on the flight, said flight staff abruptly took away dinner trays and said they were landing because of “unsafe flying conditions”.

Const. Mark Skinner said dogs searched the aircraft and had not “found anything that is a threat”.

The Air France threats aren’t the only bomb scares since the Paris attacks.

Frank Mather, 59, who was travelling back from visiting a friend in Washington to his home in Scotland, said passengers remained calm after receiving word of the diversion.

It is reported one of the planes has been cleared to fly and passengers are being boarded onto the flight again.

Officials said an anonymous caller threatened that a bomb would go off in 90 minutes.

Both flights landed safely Tuesday night, and have now been searched and given the all-clear by Canadian and USA authorities.

“An investigation will be led by the authorities to identify the source of the telephone call”.

Several law enforcement agencies are working in concert, following established protocol, to determine the nature of the threats which caused the aircraft to divert.

The incidents came as the Paris terrorist attacks on Friday night, which killed 129 people and wounded 400, put European countries on high alert.

Kenitzer says he could offer no further details on the security issue.