'Credible' threat cancels 6 flights

The Air France flights between Paris and L.A. are scrapped when U.S. officials determine six passengers had possible ties to terrorist groups.

WASHINGTON - Air France canceled several flights to the United States after U.S. officials, on heightened alert for holiday terror attacks, passed on "credible" security threats involving passengers planning to fly from Paris to Los Angeles, U.S. and European officials said Wednesday.

Six flights scheduled for Wednesday and today were canceled - three headed to Los Angeles and three return flights to Paris.

Officials were confident Wednesday night, based on the strength of their intelligence, that at least a portion of whatever terrorists might have been planning had been thwarted by grounding the flights.

But serious concerns remain among intelligence and law enforcement officials that other plots could be under way, and American operatives and intelligence analysts were scurrying Wednesday night to gather more information on the widely varying threats that sources are reporting.

U.S. officials also were in intense security talks with officials from several other countries Wednesday, as intelligence concerns intensified about possible plans by the al-Qaida terror network to use aircraft to attack American targets. An unidentified industry official told the Associated Press that Mexican airline Aeromexico was a focus of U.S. concern.

A spokesman for French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said the decision to cancel the six Air France flights came early Wednesday after American authorities notified France that "two or three" suspicious people, possibly Tunisian nationals, were planning to board the flights.

About six passengers on the three flights appear to have possible links to terrorist groups, a Bush administration official told the New York Times. At least several of the passengers appear to have shown up on watch lists compiled by U.S. officials to track people with possible terrorist and criminal connections, but U.S. authorities said it was unclear how closely they might be linked to terrorist groups.

The United States gave French authorities the names of suspicious people who might have intended to board the flights, but no people by those names went through airport security checks and no arrests were made, the Interior Ministry said.

The French Interior Ministry said the flights were canceled at the request of the U.S. Embassy in Paris. A spokesman for Raffarin said the United States had threatened to refuse the planes permission to land in Los Angeles if they took off. But U.S. officials wouldn't confirm they had made the request.

Before the French ministry issued its statement, U.S. officials had said the United States had been seeking to lure suspects to the airport and arrest them when they showed up for the flights.

American officials said the U.S. government was comparing data it had compiled on passengers preparing to board flights entering the United States and data on the flight crews on those flights with terrorist watch lists it has compiled.

Officials from the Homeland Security Department, including Secretary Tom Ridge, had been meeting with French officials in recent days over concerns about a possible terrorist attack.

In addition, Secretary of State Colin Powell conferred by telephone Wednesday with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin about the security situation. Bush administration officials suggested concerns extended beyond the Air France flights.

Billie Vincent, an aviation security expert who formerly headed security for the FAA, called the flight cancellations "extremely unusual."

Vincent said Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris has never been considered particularly secure, and in recent months intelligence officials have been concerned that airport insiders, including pilots, could execute an attack.

"The most difficult thing to protect against is an insider," Vincent said. "The most difficult thing to protect against is a pilot who may be ideologically motivated for the al-Qaida group."

An unidentified Homeland Security official told the Associated Press that the United States had been working with a number of governments overseas to help them increase their security measures at airports. The official said American officials had passed on to other governments a "very credible threat" of possible attacks originating overseas.

U.S. officials have been working to get foreign airlines to provide American officials with more passenger information on people aboard the flights that originate overseas and travel to the United States. France and Mexico were of particular concern in this regard, the official said.

Despite the threats, U.S. officials were encouraging U.S. travelers to keep their scheduled holiday plans.

Three of the flights were scheduled to depart Wednesday - two from Paris and one from Los Angeles. Air France gave the flight numbers as 68, 69 and 70. The three other flights were scheduled to leave today - two from Los Angeles and one from Paris. Air France listed those flight numbers as 68, 69 and 71. No more cancellations were expected.

The cancellations started at midday after most passengers had checked in for Air France's 1:35 p.m. flight from Paris to Los Angeles. Air France said passengers were held at the gate and subjected to security checks before they were allowed to leave the terminal. A later Los Angeles-bound flight, due to leave at 7 p.m., was canceled before check-in began.

The two canceled flights from Paris affected about 700 holiday travelers. About 400 were put in hotels for the night while alternate travel plans were arranged.

"I feel fine about taking other flights, you've got to stick with it," said Nigel Pickett, a tourist from London.

His travel companion, Judy Burns of Manchester, England, said she was undaunted by the scare.

"There is a lot of conflict," Burns said. "You can't let it rule your life. You've got to take your chances."

The cancellations came two years after the "shoe bomber," Richard Reid, tried to detonate explosives in his shoes during a flight from Paris to Miami. Reid, a British convert to Islam, was sentenced to life in prison.

- Information from the New York Times and Chicago Tribune was used in this report.

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