Six airports evacuated in France and one in Belgium due to threat of attacks | International

Several French airports were evacuated this Wednesday morning following “attack threats” received by email, according to a police source. The first information indicated that the airports affected are: Lille, Lyon (Bron), Nantes, Nice, Toulouse and Beauvais. While the police tried to “clear doubts” about the threat, the communications department at Nice airport clarified that in their case it was only a suspicious package alert. “It is something common,” said the same source, “which forced the establishment of a security perimeter. But everything is back to normal.”

A spokesperson for the French Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) confirmed “bomb threats” and “terminal evacuations” on Wednesday morning in four operations centers – Lille, Lyon, Toulouse and Beauvais (north of Paris) – , without offering more details at the moment.

According to the DGAC online scoreboard, three airports were experiencing significant delays shortly after midday: Toulouse-Blagnac (two hours on arrival, one hour and a half on departure), Lille-Lesquin (one hour and a half on arrival and the exit) and Beauvais-Tillé (almost two hours at the exit). At Bron Airport – a business airport – “doubts have been dispelled and traffic has resumed,” declared the airport management.

In Belgium, Ostend airport - located 25 kilometers from the city of Bruges - and two central squares in Ghent have also been evacuated after bomb threats, reports Silvia Ayuso from Brussels. At the airport of the Belgian coastal city, fifty workers were evacuated – there were no passengers at the time – after a “threatening” email was received against several airports, according to the Belga agency. Security forces are searching the facilities “out of an abundance of caution,” according to the information. At the same time, in Ghent it was decided to evacuate two central squares after the presence of a “suspicious package” was alerted, a suitcase that demining teams are checking, in addition to closing the southern bus station for the same reason.

Since the jihadist attack committed by a man of Tunisian origin on Monday in Brussels, which killed two Swedish citizens and injured a third, the entire country is under terrorist alert 3 (of a maximum of 4) of “serious threat”, which calls on the population to remain “vigilant” and allows a greater police presence on the streets.

The prime ministers of Belgium, Alexander De Croo, and Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, participated this Wednesday in a tribute in the Belgian capital to the fatal victims of the attack linked to the burning of copies of the Koran in Sweden in recent months, which have caused strong protests in the Muslim world.

[Noticia de última hora. Habrá actualización en breve]

Follow all the international information on Facebook and xor in our weekly newsletter.