Fake bomb forces Air France flight to make Kenya emergency landing

An Air France flight traveling from the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius to France made an emergency landing at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kenya due to a suspicious device that was found in a plane lavatory. But it turned out to be a fake, the airline’s CEO confirmed, calling the device a “false alarm.”

Frederic Gagey, CEO of Air France said the whole incident was sparked by a fake bomb warning when the paper and timer object was triggered fears of a bomb. He thanked the Kenyan authorities for swinging into action handling the situation safely.

The Kenyan Police told the media, the Boeing 777 Flight 463 was en route to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris when the pilot asked to make an emergency in Kenya.

“It requested an emergency landing when a device suspected to be an explosive was discovered in the lavatory,” Police Spokesman Charles Owino. He added all 459 passengers and 14 crew members on board had evacuated safely although some were taken to local hospital after sustaining minor injuries.

One passenger on the plane told journalists that the emergency landing was calm as crew told passengers the plane had been diverted due to a technical problem. "The plane just went down, slowly, slowly, slowly, so we just realized probably something was wrong," he said. "But the personnel of Air France were just great, just wonderful. So they keep everybody calm."

This is the fourth false bomb alert to ground an Air France plane after November Paris terror attacks, last month two Air France jets originating from Los Angeles and Washing DC, US were diverted to Salt Lake City, Utah, and Nova Scotia, Canada after bomb threats were simultaneously called in.