French Airports Disrupted By Volcanic Ash Cloud (Photo : Getty Images)
Following the Friday night Paris terror attacks, Air France does not make light of bomb threats on its flights. As a result of two separate threats made on Paris-bound jets of the air carrier, Air France had to make emergency landings in Utah and Canada on Tuesday.
Mashable reports that flight AF65 that left Los Angeles for Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris was diverted and landed at Salt Lake City International Airport at 7 p.m., local time. The other flight, AF55, left Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., and had to divert to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport in Nova Scotia. It left Washington at 6:50 p.m., local time.
The jet from LA has more than 400 passengers, while the plane from Washington has 298 people on board, including the crew.
Air France says diverting the planes was a precautionary measure. When the two jets landed, the travelers were evacuated from the planes and local authorities, such as bomb-sniffing dogs of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, inspected the aircraft to check if there is an explosive device on board.
While the search was ongoing, airport authorities closed the main runway of the Halifax airport but opened a secondary runway so as not to disrupt operations, says Peter Spurway, spokesperson of the airport operator, reports CBC.
The two planes have been rescheduled for departure, according to Air France.
