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Airliner row leads to hijack fears
PARIS, France -- A dispute between two friends in Montreal led to fears that there was a hijacking attempt on board a Paris-bound Air France airliner, according to airport officials. A passenger was detained by French border police after Flight 345 from Montreal landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside the French capital, police said. Authorities found nothing suspicious after a search. It was believed the passenger and another man who stayed in the Canadian city had a fight before the flight, a spokeswoman for the Paris airport authority told The Associated Press. The person who stayed behind accused the passenger of taking a bomb on board. Neither the ministry nor the airline would say whether the man who did not board the flight at Dorval Airport in Montreal was detained. Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said he had been told the incident was a hoax, and sprang from a "business conflict" between two individuals. "One of the people got on the plane and flew to Paris and the one who was left in Montreal made some allegations that were then passed on to the pilot," Graham told reporters during a briefing at the NATO summit in Prague. 'Vigilance needed'In a brief statement, Air France said the flight "took place normally" and there had been no hijacking attempt. A spokeswoman declined to provide details. Junior Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau told Europe 1 radio: "It's an incident that turned out well, there is no cause for concern for the family of friends of those on the flight, but we have to be more vigilant than ever." Reuters reported that officials have said France is a possible target for attacks by Islamic militants. It said this month it was looking at possible threats after warnings by the international police agency Interpol of a risk of attacks in several countries. Last month French authorities started an investigation after plastic explosives were discovered on a Royal Air Maroc plane from Marrakesh that landed in France on September 26. Judicial sources said the explosives were similar to those allegedly used by Richard Reid, arrested in December for trying to ignite explosives in his shoes on an American Airlines flight from Britain to the U.S.
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