2023-10-18 15:14:21
Nine terminals were evacuated this Wednesday following “threats of attacks” received by email. Some flights have been diverted and delays are accumulating.
At least eleven airports, across the four corners of France, had to carry out an evacuation this Wednesday late morning after “bomb threats», confirmed the Ministry of the Interior Figaro. The airports concerned are Lille, Bordeaux, Lyon (Bron), Nantes, Rennes, Nice, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Biarritz, Pau, Carcassonne and Beauvais. Le Figaro takes stock of the situation.
Different situations depending on the terminals
Our colleagues from La Dépêche du Midi specify, with regard to Toulouse-Blagnac airport, that the staff received an email indicating the presence of a bomb on the site around 10:30 a.m. Following the procedure, a “removal of doubt» followed, involving the intervention of the police. A police source cited by AFP explains that a similar email was received by the airports of Lille, Lyon (Bron), Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais.
In Nice, the airport explained that it “there was just an alert of a suspicious package, something frequent, which required the establishment of a security perimeter“. Without mentioning, however, the receipt of an email by the teams. The Nice airport specified that “everything is in order».
Vinci Airports services reported to the Figaro that the Rennes airport, which they operate, was also the subject of a bomb threat on Wednesday morning. In this terminal, like that of Nantes and Lyon Bron, also managed by Vinci Airports, “theState services were immediately mobilized to implement the necessary measures, the terminal was evacuated while the necessary inspection measures were carried out», Notified the company.
The Hauts-de-France prefecture authorized Lille airport to reopen its doors around 1 p.m. “The Prefecture has given a favorable opinion for staff and passengers to return to the airport», Indicates Lille airport on its X account (formerly Twitter).
A spokesperson for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) confirmed to Figaro only “bomb threats» had been triggered Wednesday morning as well as “terminal evacuations» on four platforms – Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Beauvais.
Diverted flights and significant delays
Around 2 p.m., at least four French airports were still at a standstill, according to air traffic monitoring organization Eurocontrol: Toulouse, Beauvais, Bordeaux and Pau. Activity gradually resumed in Nice, Lyon (Bron), then Lille, as well as in Pau and Biarritz.
According to the DGAC’s online dashboard, three airports experienced significant delays shortly after midday: Toulouse-Blagnac (two hours on arrival, one and a half hours on departure), Lille-Lesquin (one and a half hours on arrival and departure) and Beauvais-Tillé (nearly two hours from departure).
Flights from Marrakech, Geneva and Constantine, which were due to land between 11:05 a.m. and 11:40 a.m., were diverted, it is stated on the Lille airport website. “State security services are on site», Specifies the airport on X.
No alert in the three Paris airports
Contacted, the ADP group (formerly Aéroports de Paris) – which manages the Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly and Paris Le Bourget airports – assured for its part that it was not concerned, at this stage, by these bomb threats which affect many major French airports.
«None of the Paris airports were affected by the bomb threats. We nevertheless obviously remain fully vigilant», explains the company to Figaro.
Increase in bomb threats in recent days
In addition to Parisian airports this Wednesday, the Château de Versailles, one of the most visited sites in France, was once again the subject of an evacuation for a bomb threat. This is the third time in five days. The Louvre Museum also had to close its doors last weekend for security reasons.
Bomb threats in public places have increased since the attack on a high school in Arras. A literature professor, Dominique Bernard, died there. The situation in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine has caused a wave of attacks in Europe in recent days.
After the assassination with semi-automatic weapons of two Swedish tourists in Brussels on Monday evening, a synagogue was targeted with Molotov cocktails in Berlin on Wednesday morning, without however causing any casualties.
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