An Air China flight to Beijing returned to Paris on Thursday after an airline employee misunderstood a passenger who was calling on the phone and thought he was reporting a bomb on the plane, Paris airport police said. Xinhua initially reported that the plane turned back because of "suspected terrorist information." Not so, according to an official with the airport police prefecture, the state body that oversees security at the city's airports. The passenger, speaking in English, called Air China to say he was stuck behind police lines that were set up at Charles de Gaulle Airport's Terminal 1 while officers investigated an abandoned package. "The company thought it was a bomb alert" for the plane, the official said. "It was an error of comprehension." The official did not identify the passenger or the airline employee. Flight CA876 returned to Charles de Gaulle and was separated from other aircraft for an inspection. The plane had been in the air nearly 40 minutes before heading back, according to the local airport authority.<br/>
star
Singapore Airlines reported a 59% fall in Q1 net profit, below analyst expectations, Thursday due to a rise in the oil price, lower airfares and a lack of one-off items that had boosted the prior year. The carrier earned S$140m in the three months ended June 30, down from a revised figure of S$338m a year before, it said in a stock exchange filing. The prior-year figure was restated due to accounting changes and had included S$175m of one-off benefits from changes to its frequent flyer programme accounting and compensation for aircraft delivery slots. Maybank had forecast a net profit of S$251m for Q1, based on yields, a proxy for airfares, rising by 5.5%. SIA said yields fell by 3.2% during the quarter, bucking a broader global industry trend toward rising yields. The figure was dragged down by a 10.3% decline at regional arm SilkAir. Group revenues fell 0.5% to S$3.84b during the quarter, with cargo and passenger revenues rising but not by enough to cover the lack of one-off items from the prior year. SIA said passenger traffic was expected to grow in the coming months, but costs remained under pressure, especially from higher fuel prices.<br/>