Military escort for Air France jet to NYC after threat
Fighter planes scramble after anonymous tip-off that chemical weapon was planted on flight; no bomb found
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Authorities said US military jets escorted an Air France airliner to New York’s Kennedy Airport after a threat was made against the flight.
The FBI said the jets scrambled Monday morning after an anonymous caller claimed a chemical weapon was aboard the aircraft.
Authorities said the airliner landed safely and a search turned up no weapons.
Air France didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
In December last year the al-Qaeda jihadist group called for “lone-wolf” attacks on American airliners and urged that, where that isn’t possible, other carriers — including Air France — should be targeted instead.
A year earlier, in December 2013, Venezuelan authorities grounded an Air France flight bound for Paris after French intelligence authorities warned that terrorists might blow it up. Security officials searched the entire plane and luggage but found no trace of explosives.
The Times of Israel Community.