Yemenia cancels all Comoros flights after crash

Yemenia is suspending all flights to the Comoros after one of its Airbus A310 crashed in the Indian Ocean and killed 153 people, the airline said Saturday as search crews said they have located a large piece of debris from the doomed jet.

"In light of serious incidents in recent days and major risks that some passengers posed to airport staff, our company and passengers, Yemenia has decided to no longer serve Moroni for an indefinite period from July 3 until the situation eases," it said in a statement.

Yemenia's lawyer in France, Laurent-Franck Lienard, told AFP that only flights to Moroni were affected, and that the airline would continue to fly to other destinations -- including Paris-Sanaa, Paris-Kuala Lumpur and Paris-Jakarta -- as normal.

Since the crash, in which a 14-year-old girl was the only survivor, members of the Comoran community in France have been up in arms over the condition of the Airbus that Yemenia used on its Moroni service.

They have notably blocked check-in desks in Paris and Marseille for Yemenia flights to Moroni, prompting the airline on Thursday to suspend services from Marseille -- home to a large Comoran expatriate community.

Yemenia said it "shares the pain of families who lost loved ones in this tragic accident" as it strives to pass along information and swiftly pay out "provisional compensation."

But it lamented what it called "irrational" demonstrations and "unacceptable violence" which were compromising the airline's ability to deal with the disaster.

"These displays of violence and serious threats are aimed at preventing the airline from continuing its service to the Comoros," it said.

"They risk leading to a new tragedy, on the ground or in the air, which Yemenia has a duty to prevent."

Meanwhile rescuers continued to search the crash site and have so far been unable to find any of the remaining passengers but found a large piece of debris.

"The American team was able to locate a large piece of the aircraft's parts and is currently retrieving it," Yemen's transport ministry said in a statement.

The plane plunged into the sea as it came in to land at Moroni, the capital of the formerly French-ruled Comoros archipelago, which comprises three islands off mainland east Africa and northwest of Madagascar.

These displays of violence and serious threats are aimed at preventing the airline from continuing its service to the Comoros

Airline statement