18-10-2023 (PARIS) Airports across France were cleared and evacuated on Wednesday in response to a series of emailed “threats of attack,” according to information provided by a police source to AFP. The affected airports included those in Lille, Lyon, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse, and Beauvais, near Paris. The decision to evacuate these airports was made in order to investigate the credibility of these threats.
Additionally, Strasbourg Airport in eastern France reported a “threatening email” and also initiated an evacuation.
This recent wave of evacuations adds to heightened security concerns in France, prompted by the Oct 7 attack by Hamas on Israel and the fatal stabbing of a teacher in Arras last Friday, claimed by an individual pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group.
A second police source mentioned that operations at Nice, Lyon, and Lille airports resumed normal activity around midday.
#BREAKING: France is evacuating 6 airports due to terror threats.
Toulouse airport is being evacuated in the video.#France #Francia #Airport #Terrorism pic.twitter.com/bkc7yiiKlX
— NewsAlerts Global (@NewsAlertsG) October 18, 2023
France’s DGAC aviation authority confirmed evacuations due to bomb warnings at Lille, Lyon, Toulouse, and Beauvais airports but was unable to provide further details at the time.
Notably, the DGAC’s online dashboard showed significant delays at Lille, Lyon, and Toulouse airports. An official post from Nice airport’s X – formerly Twitter – account stated that a security perimeter had been established due to an abandoned baggage item but added that the situation had returned to normal. Lyon’s Bron airport authorities also reported that the all-clear had been given.
In some instances, passengers who were affected by these evacuations expressed confusion on social media, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the situations at the airports.
