It was a false alarm. Caen airport reopened to the public on Friday November 17 at the start of the afternoon, after a bomb threat claimed by “environmental activists” anonymous, which disrupted air traffic all morning. ” Absolutely nothing “ was not found by the mine clearance teams dispatched to the site, the Calvados prefecture informed Agence France-Presse.
The alert was triggered early Friday morning after the discovery by the editorial staff of France 3 Normandie from an anonymous letter signed by “French environmental activists”, according to the same source. The signatories claimed an intrusion into the airport grounds to “denounce environmental absurdity [du transport aérien] ». “Explosives have been placed around the tarmac and will be detonated at 12 p.m. We leave it to you to notify the police and the airport management so that the damage is only material”they say in the letter cited by France 3 Normandie.
An investigation to identify the perpetrators of the intrusion
Minesweepers were immediately sent to the site and actually noted an intrusion on the runway, with a trash can emptied and turned over on the tarmac as well as a container placed next to the trash can, detailed the prefecture. Inscription “stop planes” had also been painted on the tar.
The deminers quickly ruled out any danger linked to these objects, and carried out a “a removal of doubt” on the entire track and buildings, said the prefecture.
The police then entered the premises to carry out various surveys as part of an investigation which will determine who the perpetrators of the intrusion are and how they were able to enter a secure location.
Bomb threats multiply
The alert had interrupted all air traffic with Caen airport. Two flights (Caen-Montpellier and Caen-Nice) had to be canceled and flights to Caen also had to be diverted to Rennes or Deauville, depending on the airport.
After the attack which cost the life of teacher Dominique Bernard in Arras on October 13, many French airports had already been the subject of bomb threats in October. On October 19, fourteen of them had been targeted by threats of attack, and at least eleven had carried out evacuations, leading to flight cancellations and countless delays.