NEW YORK // An Air France jetliner heading from Paris to New York was escorted by US fighter planes for the last stretch of the trip on Monday because of a bomb threat against the flight, the airline said and a US official said.
Flight AF022 landed at JFK airport without incident and was later taken to a special area of the airport for a security search, an Air France official in Paris said.
The threat was made by telephone from the United States, the Air France official said.
It was a bomb threat phoned in to a Maryland state police barracks shortly after 6:30AM local time, said police spokesman Greg Shipley. The FBI was notified immediately.
US media reported that the threat was not considered credible.
Pentagon officials were not immediately available for comment following the incident, which occurred as the United States marked its Memorial Day holiday.
An official at the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency was aware of the incident, but declined to elaborate.
CNN said the escort planes were two F-15 fighter jets.
* Agence France-Presse
