An unspecified anonymous threat prompted an Air France flight en route from San Francisco to Paris to divert to Montreal’s Trudeau Airport on Tuesday morning.
The crew aboard Flight AF083 decided to divert ” as a precautionary measure,” according to a statement by the airline. The aircraft landed just before midnight local time in Montreal, with at least 15 fire trucks and police cars waiting on the tarmac.
Passengers disembarked safely “in groups of 50, to be checked individually,” one passenger tweeted, after police first boarded the aircraft to begin investigating with everyone still on the plane.
Canadian authorities spent several hours verifying the aircraft, passengers and baggage and said an investigation into the origin of the threat would be launched.
Passengers told media that they were informed by the crew they were diverted due to “operational reasons.” The airline said they would take “all measures” to send the passengers on to their destinations.
