“False alert” on flight AF463 from Mauritius to Paris CDG

An Air France flight, from Mauritius to Charles-de-Gaulle airport in Paris, made an emergency landing in the night of Saturday 19 to Sunday 20 in Mombasa, Kenya, after the discovery of a suspicious package on board. Passengers reached Paris today aboard an Air France flight.

Air France said the items found were "fictitious devices". The CEO of Air France Frédéric Gagey confirmed that it was a“ false alert”. “The package is an assembly of boxes and a sort of timer. It is handcrafted and not capable of exploding, and was found in a closet in the toilet by a passenger who gave the alert at around 22h. The crew had undertaken a “safety check” of this place and of all the cupboards before takeoff. Nothing had been found. "

The package, devoid of explosives, was also not detectable during security checks. According to Frederic Gagey, "there was nothing that presented any danger for the aircraft, passengers or the crew. Nothing at this stage shows that there was a flaw in the security measures in Mauritius ".

Xavier-Luc Duval, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Minister of Tourism and External Communications of Mauritius, said “ the set of security measures at the airport was reviewed and it was confirmed that all the procedures relating to security have been scrupulously followed”.

The DPM also noted with satisfaction that the statement made by the executive Director of Air France also refers to the same. The new terminal at SSR International Airport, built two years ago, is equipped with state-of-the-art technology such as CCTV, explosive trace detection, CT scanners for bags and luggage, X-Ray and also sniffer dogs.

Air France announced this Monday that it had filed a complaint against X for endangering the lives of others. According to information close to the enquiry, a couple counting amongst the passengers of the plane was arrested by border police. They were placed in custody on their return to Paris.