Air France flight from Paris to New York escorted by US fighter jets after bomb threat
A caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation, Maryland State Police said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An Air France flight from Paris was escorted by US fighter jets to New York's John F Kennedy International Airport - one of several planes against which anonymous threats were apparently made.
Flight 22 from Charles de Gaulle Airport landed safely in New York, an airport official said. It was to be taken to a secure area to be searched.
The anonymous threatening call was made to a Maryland State Police barrack on Monday morning, police said. "The caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation," Maryland State Police said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Two US Air Force F-15 jets were launched as a precaution to monitor the flight as it approached New York, said Navy Lieutenant Commander Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for US North American Aerospace Defence Command and US Northern Command.
It was later reported that the plane had been cleared.
The plane was just one of several that were apparently the subject of threats on Monday.
New York's WNBC television reported that a threat had been made against an American Airlines flight headed to JFK, but that threat was deemed not credible and the flight was cleared.
That report also said an Saudi Arabian Airlines flight was being checked out due to an unspecified threat, and that threats had been made against three other flights at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Another report, on CNN, said that a threat had also reportedly been made against a Virgin Atlantic flight flying to the US from Manchester.
There was no immediate comment from the airlines.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments