NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ main airport was briefly evacuated following a bomb hoax, a day ahead of a visit to the small Mediterranean island nation by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.
Marios Demetriades, the country’s communications minister, said Tuesday that the telephone warning of a possible bomb turned out be a hoax and that Larnaca airport was operating as normal once again following a brief evacuation. A sweep of the terminal found “suspicious items” that police later said weren’t dangerous.
He said another phone call about a bomb at the country’s other, smaller airport in Paphos also turned out to be a hoax and operations there were unaffected.
Biden begins his three-day visit Wednesday. Demetriades said he couldn’t rule out the possibility that someone may have made the hoax because of Biden’s trip.
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