Air France flight diverted to Canada

An Air France light from New York to Paris was diverted to St John's, Newfoundland, on New Year's Day after a passenger checked in baggage but did not board the plane, officials said yesterday.

Air France said in a statement that its team in New York realised they had mistakenly loaded a bag on flight AF023 from New York to Paris, and the plane then left.

"This mistake was the result of a misunderstanding with a passenger at check-in, who cancelled his trip because he had excess baggage to pay," the statement said.

"Even though this is a very frequent passenger on Air France lines and he is well known by the company's staff, the captain preferred to land in Newfoundland in order to unload the luggage loaded by mistake," it added.

St John's airport officials said the diverted flight was treated as an emergency, with 268 passengers and crew taken off the plane and the local police bomb disposal unit called in.

Rex LeDrew, president of the St John's International Airport Authority said the flight resumed four hours later.

Air France cancelled several flights between Paris and Los Angeles over the Christmas period because of security concerns. US fighter jets have escorted some of its flights over US airspace for fear that attackers might try to crash them into American targets.