Paris - The Yemeni airline Yemenia has suspended flights in and out of the French city of Marseille after several hundred protesters disrupted the registration of passengers on their way to Sana'a, French media reported Friday. The protesters were relatives of some of the 152 people killed in Tuesday's crash of a Yemenia Airbus A310 off the Comoros islands. They accuse Yemenia of flying unsafe planes and charge that the crash was caused by defects in the aircraft.
The suspension, which will last for an "undetermined period," was announced late Thursday after demonstrators forced Yemenia to cancel two flights out of Marseille.
Of the 152 people killed in the crash, 63 came from Marseille, which has a large Cormoran community.
The A310 that crashed was banned in 2007 from landing in France because of a number of irregularities, but Yemenia claims they were repaired and that the aircaft was safe.
