US fighter jets scrambled for French flight to New York

New York, May 25: An Air France jetliner heading from Paris to New York was escorted by US fighter planes for the last stretch of the trip today because of a threat against the flight, the airline said.

Flight AF022 landed at JFK airport without incident and was later taken to a special area of the airport for a security search, an Air France official in Paris said.

The threat was made by telephone from the United States, the Air France official said.

Pentagon officials were not immediately available for comment following the incident, which occurred as the United States marked its Memorial Day holiday.

An official at the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency was aware of the incident, but declined to elaborate. CNN said the escort planes were two F-15 fighter jets.

ABC News said the threat was phoned into the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, which coordinates federal, state and local agencies in the gathering and analysis of intelligence information.

AFP