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Photographer: Edwin Kana/AP Photo Photographer: Edwin Kana/AP Photo

A suspected bomb that forced Air France to divert a flight from Mauritius for an emergency landing early Sunday in Kenya turned out to be a fake, the head of the airline said.

Chief Executive Officer Frederic Gagey told reporters in Paris that Flight AF463 to the French capital was searched before departing the Indian Ocean resort island Saturday night. The aircraft made an unscheduled landing in Mombasa, Kenya shortly after midnight.

Air France has been the target of four bomb alerts in the past 15 days, including three on flights in the U.S., Gagey said. The number of alerts increased following the terrorist attack in the French capital on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people. Air France-KLM said on Dec. 8 that the attacks hurt its seat occupancy rate, with an impact on revenue for November estimated at about 50 million euros ($54 million).

Five days after the assault, separate flights from Washington and Los Angeles to Paris made unscheduled landings, and on Dec. 8 a plane from San Francisco was diverted after telephoned threats.

Gagey said no evidence was found to show security procedures were faulty and the airline will make a complaint. Photographs of the object, which didn’t contain explosives, showed it appeared to be made of cardboard and a timer, Gagey said.

The company doesn’t know who prepared the package and how it got into the restroom or whether it was before or during the flight.

France’s Foreign Ministry earlier said its embassy in Kenya will help passengers find accommodation and return to Paris. The airline said in a separate statement that security measures have been stepped in Mauritius, where flights may experience significant delays starting Sunday.

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— With assistance by Geraldine Amiel

( Updates with Gagey comment and background from third paragraph. )