Air France announced Saturday that it has canceled two Paris-Washington flights and two return flights on Sunday and Monday due to security concerns.  

"We confirm that for reasons of safety we have canceled flight number 026 to Washington on February 1 and the same flight on February 2," an Air France spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Air France's branch in the United States announced that it has also scrapped two Washington-Paris flights on Sunday and Monday.

"We have been for several months in an extremely tense international environment... Air France has thus decided to take necessary measures and suspend the flights, I think it's a wise decision," French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin told France's TF1 TV station.

A US official said on Saturday Washington had intelligence that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network might target five or six US-bound flights from Europe to carry out possible Sept. 11-style attacks on US interests.

On Saturday, British Airways canceled four BA flights -- scheduled for Sunday and Monday -- between London's Heathrow Airport and Washington, D.C., along with one from London to Miami, scheduled for Sunday.

US Continental Airlines cancels flights from Scotland to LA

Saturday's Continental Airlines Flight 17 from Glasgow, Scotland, to Los Angeles International Airport, was canceled because of continuing fears of terrorism, authorities said.

The flight from Glasgow, with a stop in Newark, was canceled Saturday night, according to KCAL9, a local TV station here.

"I talked to the people at our control center, and Continental has canceled the flight," said Tom Winfrey of Los Angeles World Airports, which runs Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

"We continue to work with state and federal authorities to maintain security at LAX" at levels ordered by the federal government, Winfrey said earlier.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2004)