Anonymous ‘chemical weapons’ threats were made against several passenger planes bound for the US yesterday.
Two F-15 fighter jets were scrambled to escort an Air France plane arriving at New York JFK after a threat was made, authorities said.
An anonymous caller claimed ‘chemical weapons’ were on board but the threat turned out to be unfounded following a search of the plane.
"Out of an abundance of caution, Air France flight number 22 was escorted to John F. Kennedy airport by US Air Force fighter jets following a phone threat," FBI spokesman J. Peter Donald said.
French news agency AFP reported up to 10 threats were made by the same person during the day against US-bound flights.
An American Airlines flight coming in to Newark from Birmingham, UK was also briefly held on the tarmac and a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight was checked at JFK.
Both planes were cleared to continue flying soon after.
