Air France Diverted to Montreal
Air France Diverted to Montreal
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An Air France flight bound for Paris was diverted to Montreal on Monday night after an anonymous threat was received, officials confirmed.
Francois Asselin, Aéroports de Montreal spokesperson, confirmed Flight 083 from San Francisco made an unscheduled stop in Montreal just after 11:20 pm local time.
Air France confirmed that the threat was a false alarm around 4:45 a.m. local time and that the plane will head to Paris soon.
"We were told we had to be diverted for operational reasons by the captain. We were anxious when we landed safely," passenger Thomas Serval told CBC News.
The Boeing 777-300ER was carrying 231 passengers and 15 members. The pilot decided to land in Montreal out of precaution, and the plane stayed on the tarmac for some time with passengers on board.
Police and firefighters were called to the scene at Trudeau Airport, per standard procedure.
Air France-Trudeau Airport
There were just under 250 passengers and crew on board the Boeing aircraft travelling from San Francisco to France before the unscheduled stop in Montreal.
Buses eventually arrived to transport the passengers, but it wasn't immediately clear if they would be put up for the night or if they would continue on their journey in a few hours.
Passenger Gilles Raymond told, passengers spent at least an hour on board the plane during verifications after being originally told the diversion was for "technical reasons."
"Everyone is pretty relaxed," Raymond said while still inside.
"There was no panic, no stress. Everyone is waiting in their seats. Some people are sleeping, and some are checking their phones or eating ice cream that the flight attendants gave them."
It is not the first time the airline's flights have been diverted since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people and left hundreds injured.
On Nov. 17, flights bound for France were diverted to Halifax and Salt Lake City, Utah due to anonymous threats. Both threats were found to be baseless after a sweep of the planes.
Francois Asselin, Aéroports de Montreal spokesperson, confirmed Flight 083 from San Francisco made an unscheduled stop in Montreal just after 11:20 pm local time.
Air France confirmed that the threat was a false alarm around 4:45 a.m. local time and that the plane will head to Paris soon.
"We were told we had to be diverted for operational reasons by the captain. We were anxious when we landed safely," passenger Thomas Serval told CBC News.
The Boeing 777-300ER was carrying 231 passengers and 15 members. The pilot decided to land in Montreal out of precaution, and the plane stayed on the tarmac for some time with passengers on board.
Police and firefighters were called to the scene at Trudeau Airport, per standard procedure.
Air France-Trudeau Airport
There were just under 250 passengers and crew on board the Boeing aircraft travelling from San Francisco to France before the unscheduled stop in Montreal.
Buses eventually arrived to transport the passengers, but it wasn't immediately clear if they would be put up for the night or if they would continue on their journey in a few hours.
Passenger Gilles Raymond told, passengers spent at least an hour on board the plane during verifications after being originally told the diversion was for "technical reasons."
"Everyone is pretty relaxed," Raymond said while still inside.
"There was no panic, no stress. Everyone is waiting in their seats. Some people are sleeping, and some are checking their phones or eating ice cream that the flight attendants gave them."
It is not the first time the airline's flights have been diverted since the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris which killed 130 people and left hundreds injured.
On Nov. 17, flights bound for France were diverted to Halifax and Salt Lake City, Utah due to anonymous threats. Both threats were found to be baseless after a sweep of the planes.
(rnz)
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