Air France chief executive Frederic Gagey said Sunday that a bomb threat that prompted one of the airline's planes to make an emergency landing in Kenya had been a "false alarm".
"The object was not capable of causing an explosion," Gagey said of an item made up of cardboard, pieces of paper and a timer that was found in a toilet cubicle on board the plane flying from Mauritius to Paris.
Passengers aboard Air France flight No 463 were Sunday morning forced to cut short their trip after the suspicious drive was discovered in one of the plane’s toilets.
After the discovery, the pilot made an emergency landing at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa.
Bomb experts from the Kenya Navy were called and immediately removed the device to safety outside the airport.
The Boeing 777 plane with 473 passengers on board was diverted to Mombasa at around 3am and immediately cleared to land.
All the 473 passengers were screened at the airport lounge and taken to safety in hotels where they were also receiving care and counselling.
The Kenyan security officials were said to be zeroing in on two passengers who appeared suspicious.
At the same time, bomb experts were conducting a major search inside the plane.
The Mombasa security team and airport security in Mombasa also secured the airport and all critical facilities around.
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