A British Airways flight was held on the ground at a Paris airport and surrounded by police and fire vehicles because of a suspected bomb threat.
The Airbus A320 was due to depart Paris Charles de Gaulle airport at 7.25 Sunday morning, but passengers were informed shortly before take off that a "direct threat" had been made against the airport.
French police have since declared the evacuation of the plane was triggered by a "false alarm".
According to passenger James Anderson, armed police searched all passengers on the flight.
The plane was bound for London Heathrow and was due to land at 7.45. It was given the all-clear and eventually took off over four hours late.
A British Airways spokesperson said: "The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority.
"Additional security checks are being carried out as a precaution. We would never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so."
Threats against specific flights are not infrequent, and usually turn out to be banal in origin as well as false. People running late for the flight, disgruntled employees or individuals bearing a grudge against someone they know is on a particular flight have all been known to make threats.
Any such threat is taken seriously, especially at a time of heightened tension on both sides of the Channel.
