Fourth Air France Flight Diverted Because of Fake Bomb

The flight was on its way from Mauritius to Paris when the suspicious object was found in a plane toilet and the decision was made to make an emergency landing, the BBC reported. Most terrorists planting a real bomb would also attempt to hide it properly rather than simply planting in the toilets where it could easily be found, as happened with the Air France flight.

The 473 passengers and crew were shortly evacuated after an emergency landing in Mombasa before police bomb experts examined the device which “appeared to be a kitchen timer”. Frederic Gagey, head of Air France, said in a statement, “The object did not contain explosives”. French police arrested a 58-year-old man upon the plane’s return to Paris.

The authorities did not give further details, but confirmed that an investigation had been opened into the bomb hoax, which Air France said had put lives in danger.

This hoax, the 4th in recent weeks concerning Air France, comes while concerns are heightened regarding extremist violence in a number of countries as well as aggravated jitters among passengers during the holidays.

An Air France Boeing 777 enroute from Mauritius to Paris Dec. 20 diverted to Kenya after a fake bomb was discovered in one of the lavatories. The lawsuit doesn’t name a perpetrator but leaves it to investigators to determine who might be prosecuted, and allows Air France to seek damages in an eventual trial.

“The plane just went down slowly, slowly, slowly, so we just realized probably something was wrong”, said the passenger who identified himself as Benoit Luchini of Paris. A Kenyan police official said six passengers were questioned Sunday, including the person who informed the crew about the device. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for that and the October 31 crash of a Russian passenger in the Sinai desert that killed all 224 people aboard.

The passengers arrived in Paris safely this Monday and were overwhelmed with relief.

The plane was carrying 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board and had left Mauritius at 9 p.m., said Kenyan police spokesmand Charles Owino.