Paris police: Mix-up behind the return of Air China plane

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/>