After Train Sabotage, Franco-Swiss Airport Briefly Evacuated Due To Bomb Threat

Hours before Paris 2024 Olympics's opening ceremony, EuroAirport located on French side of the border near Switzerland's Basel was evacuated due to a bomb threat. The bomb-disposal experts were deployed to sweep the airport. The evacuation came as French authorities were grappling with the arson attacks on its high-speed train network.

Strasbourg, France:A Franco-Swiss airport was temporarily evacuated following a bomb threat Friday, hours after arson attacks disrupted the French rail network ahead of the Olympics opening ceremony.

EuroAirport, located on the French side of the border near Basel, said on its website that it had reopened and that flight operations were gradually restarting.

Earlier, the Basel-Mulhouse airport said it had been evacuated and closed "for safety reasons".

"For safety reasons, the terminal had to be evacuated and is currently closed. Flight operations have been temporarily suspended. Passengers are requested to contact their airline for information about their flight," the Airport said in a post on X.

Airport Reopened

At 12:42 pm, local time, the handle posted: "The airport has reopened, and flight operations are gradually restarting. Passengers are requested to contact their airline for information about their flight. We wish you a safe and happy journey."

The prefecture of France's Haut-Rhin department told AFP the evacuation had been due to a bomb threat and that bomb-disposal experts were deployed.

Several French airports, including EuroAirport, had to be evacuated late last year due to a series of fake bomb threats.

EuroAirport welcomed eight million passengers in 2023.

The evacuation came as French authorities were hunting for the perpetrators of arson attacks on the high-speed train network, which disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of people.

'Sabotage Won't Impact Ceremony'

Sabotage crippling France's high speed TGV rail network will have "no impact on the ceremony" opening the Paris Olympics on Friday evening, the city's Mayor Anne Hidalgo said.

The "unacceptable" sabotage "has no effect on the transport network" in the French capital, Hidalgo said, speaking to reporters in Spanish after meeting Spain's King Felipe VI.

The Paris Olympics opening ceremony will be held Friday evening. (with AFP inputs)