[jimbo123]

From NY Daily News:

Fears that terrorists might unleash deadly germs, chemicals or radiation on a flight to the U.S. reportedly were behind the cancellations yesterday of flights between the U.S. and Europe.

According to a report in The Washington Post, officials feared terrorists were trying to contaminate a plane with chemical or biological agents, or trying to smuggle a radiological device into a cargo hold.

[jimbo123]

From the Washington Post:

The possibilities, as described by three intelligence officials, include releasing an undetectable biological agent, such as smallpox virus or anthrax spores, aboard a plane that passengers would then unknowingly spread; releasing a chemical agent to debilitate the passengers and crew so the plane could be hijacked, and sneaking a radiological device aboard a plane inside a piece of luggage.

[WestCoastGal]

I wondered about the cargo, remember when the reports came out about cargo planes. Maybe the intercept thought they were chattering about cargo planes but were really talking about the cargo hold. This may have something to do with the fact that only a few planes are grounded and specifically based on their flight numbers. There may be certain shippers that we have been watching that use these particular flights. Otherwise, I can't imagine why just these flights are threatened. This time AF68 is not on the list from France to LA like during the holidays.