Security issues force British Airways flight to be grounded

PARIS, France - A couple of days after the London underground explosion, on Sunday, a British Airways flight was briefly grounded in Paris over security concerns.

French authorities said that Flight BA303 was due to take off from Charles de Gaulle Airport at 7:25 a.m. (1:25 a.m. ET) bound for London's Heathrow Airport when the safety concerns were raised.

Soon after the alert was raised, passengers deplaned from the Airbus 320 and waited on the tarmac as extensive security checks were conducted.

Passengers later said that security personnel had conducted bag searches and sniffer dogs checked the aircraft.

One of the passengers, James Anderson, who was aboard the flight, said in a tweet, "Aircraft has been deemed absolutely safe. Authorities are satisfied with the search. We will continue on to London Heathrow.

He praised the pilot and crew for their handling of the incident and posted pictures and videos showing passengers evacuating the aircraft with emergency response vehicles nearby.

Anderson wrote on Twitter, "On British Airways Flight BA0303, currently being held on the tarmac at Paris due to a security threat, surrounded by police and fire vehicles. Apparently, an individual has made a direct threat to this aircraft. We will all be led off the aircraft & baggage searched in due course."

He added that all passengers had multiple X-ray scanning checks while authorities secured the plane.

So far, the French national police have not released details about what led to the alert but the aircraft was cleared for departure a few hours later.

British Airways confirmed the incident aboard the flight and said it conducted additional security checks as a precaution.

In a statement, it said, “The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority. Additional security checks are being carried out as a precaution. We would never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so."

Authorities have determined the incident was a false alarm.