A British Airways flight was held on the ground at a Paris airport and surrounded by police and fire vehicles because of a suspected bomb threat.

The Airbus A320 was due to depart Paris Charles de Gaulle airport at 7.25am (local time) on Sunday, but passengers were informed shortly before takeoff that a “direct threat” had been made against the airport.

French police have since declared that the evacuation of the plane was triggered by a “false alarm”.

According to passenger James Anderson, armed police searched all passengers on the flight.

The plane was bound for London Heathrow and was due to land at 7.45am. It was given the all-clear and eventually took off over four hours late.

A British Airways spokesperson 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.”