Fighter jets escort Air France flight to JFK Airport

An Air France flight from Paris was escorted by two US F-15 fighter jets to New York's John F Kennedy International Airport on Monday after an anonymous threat was made against the flight, according to the US military.

Flight 22 from Charles de Gaulle Airport landed safely in New York, an airport official said.

Two US Air Force F-15 fighters were launched as a precautionary measure to monitor the flight as it returned to New York, said Navy Lt Cmdr Richlyn Ivey, a spokeswoman for US North American Aerospace Defense Command and US Northern Command.

The anonymous threatening call was made to a Maryland State Police barracks on Monday morning, police said.

“The caller made a bomb threat involving commercial aviation,” Maryland State Police said in a statement.

Citing an unnamed senior US official, ABC News said the caller made a chemical weapons threat on board the plane.

ABC said the plane was to be taken to a secure area to be searched, and that the threat was not considered credible.

No comment was immediately available from the FBI, which is handling the investigation.

Air France also could not be reached for comment.

The US military spokeswoman said the command had not received information about any additional threats against commercial airliners.

She declined to identify which military base dispatched the jets, citing security concerns, but said the jets had returned to the base after the Air France jet landed safely.

Reuters