Thursday, May 12, 2005

Air France flight to US diverted over suspect passenger

Bienvenue au Bangor
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States ordered an Air France flight from Paris to Boston diverted after a passenger whose name is on a terrorism watch list was found to be on board, US security officials said.

Flight AF-332 was told to go to Bangor in the northeastern state of Maine [...]

Air France said there were 169 passengers on board and that it was "cooperating to the fullest extent with US authorities".

[...]

French authorities did not detect the person on the watch list when the passenger boarded at Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport, said a TSA official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

After takeoff, Air France relayed the passenger list to US authorities as usual. US security officials then found that one of the passengers' names was on the watch list. They contacted Air France to have the plane diverted, the source said.
Would "co-operating fully" not include checking the list before takeoff?