French airports hit by third day of bomb threats
At least 18 French airports received bomb threats on Friday, authorities have revealed, the third day in a row that airports have been disrupted by threats.
Most of France's major airports - with the exception of its two biggest in Paris - were temporarily evacuated on Wednesday, leading to at least 130 flight cancellations.
On Thursday, the evacuations were focused on small airports such as Brest, Carcassonne, Bordeaux and Montpellier, while on Friday authorities say that 18 airports received threats, but not all were evacuated.
Those that did evacuated include Bordeaux, Rennes and Basel-Mulhouse in eastern France.
Meanwhile on Friday the Palace of Versailles was once again evacuated after a threat, making the fifth evacuation since Saturday.
READ ALSO Should I be worried by the terror alerts in France?
After the major flight disruption on Wednesday, problems for travellers have been fewer on Thursday and Friday, although some flights have been delayed or re-routed.
France, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations, has been on high alert since the Hamas's assault on Israel and since a teacher was killed last week by an attacker who had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group.
"It's a serious nuisance, but we take zero risks," said a spokesperson for Bordeaux-Merignac Airport, which had already seen a three-hour evacuation on Wednesday that led to a dozen flights being cancelled.
Transport Minister Clément Beaune wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that "planned false alerts are dangerous and unacceptable," adding that offenders risk two years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday over an emailed bomb threat in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, a town northwest of Paris. Around 1,200 people including around a thousand pupils had been evacuated from the Jean Perrin high school the suspect attended.
No explosives were found following an examination of the site, and the teenager's exact motive remained unclear.
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Most of France's major airports - with the exception of its two biggest in Paris - were temporarily evacuated on Wednesday, leading to at least 130 flight cancellations.
On Thursday, the evacuations were focused on small airports such as Brest, Carcassonne, Bordeaux and Montpellier, while on Friday authorities say that 18 airports received threats, but not all were evacuated.
Those that did evacuated include Bordeaux, Rennes and Basel-Mulhouse in eastern France.
Meanwhile on Friday the Palace of Versailles was once again evacuated after a threat, making the fifth evacuation since Saturday.
READ ALSO Should I be worried by the terror alerts in France?
After the major flight disruption on Wednesday, problems for travellers have been fewer on Thursday and Friday, although some flights have been delayed or re-routed.
France, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations, has been on high alert since the Hamas's assault on Israel and since a teacher was killed last week by an attacker who had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group.
"It's a serious nuisance, but we take zero risks," said a spokesperson for Bordeaux-Merignac Airport, which had already seen a three-hour evacuation on Wednesday that led to a dozen flights being cancelled.
Transport Minister Clément Beaune wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday that "planned false alerts are dangerous and unacceptable," adding that offenders risk two years in prison and a €30,000 fine.
A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Thursday over an emailed bomb threat in Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, a town northwest of Paris. Around 1,200 people including around a thousand pupils had been evacuated from the Jean Perrin high school the suspect attended.
No explosives were found following an examination of the site, and the teenager's exact motive remained unclear.
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