A security alert caused passengers on board a flight from Paris to Bilbao to phone relatives in tears to ‘say goodbye’, say reports.
Just before the flight was due to take off from Charles de Gaulle Airport, the crew were unable to find ‘a citizen of Arab origin’, reported Spanish newspaper El Correo.
One passenger told the newspaper: "It was awful. It’s true that people were calling home saying they were experiencing something very dramatic and they didn’t know what was going to happen."
The passengers were held on board for more than three hours whilst police searched the cabin and there was also panic over a bag which no one seemed to own, on board the flight operated by Air France subsidiary, Hop.
After the flight was grounded, the passengers were taken to hotels in Paris for an overnight stay and were flown out this morning to Bilbao.
A spokeswoman for Air France said that the passengers had remained calm during the delay.
She said: "During the flight, the on board crew asked to the competent authorities to make a safety/security inspection, because a passenger left the plane during boarding.
"After 2 hours of waiting, the flight was cancelled. All customers have been accommodated in Paris-Charles-De-Gaulle airport and the feeder flight was postponed to Tuesday 13th.
"All Passengers remained calm during the process. Our priority is to insure safety for our customers."
