A section of Paris-Orly Airport in France was evacuated this evening after an anonymous caller reported a bomb in the toilets. Terminals two and three were affected, according to French media. A source told Le Parisien that the premises were being evacuated after the police received the call around 6pm.
A police source said, “A caller claimed to have placed a bomb in the airport toilets.” Specialist teams are now entering Orly to inspect the area.
Evacuation Ends As Situation Returns To Normal At Paris-Orly Airport
By around 7:30pm, the situation had returned to normal. A dispatcher told Le Parisien, “I’ve never seen an evacuation like this.” They added, “At one point, there was a rush. People were running around the parking lot… The police told them to leave.”
A passenger named Catherine said, “We were simply asked to go outside. There were a lot of us.” Catherine added, “We saw our family members, who had been evacuated, come back while waiting for their luggage. They have since returned to collect it, and we are waiting for them.”
This incident follows a recent bomb alert that grounded a plane from Paris-Orly to Montpellier earlier this week. The alert, which kept a Transavia flight grounded for several hours, was later found to be a false claim. It was one of at least three such alerts in recent weeks.
Paris-Orly is one of the two major airports serving the French capital, the other being Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Social media footage seemed to show people being evacuated from the airport, but this footage, including the one embedded below, has not yet been confirmed.
Basel Mulhouse Reopens After July Bomb Alert
In July, Basel Mulhouse Airport, also known as EuroAirport, was evacuated for “safety reasons” due to a bomb alert. Airport officials stated, “The airport has reopened and flights are gradually resuming.” They advised passengers to contact their airline for flight information.
Last year, there were several fake bomb threats at airports in France.