A Yemeni airline plane leased from a US company has been seized at Paris's main airport over an unpaid fine, an airport official says.
Bailiffs acting on behalf of the US leasing company International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) took control of the Airbus A330 before it was to take off at Charles de Gaulle Airport and ordered the 110 passengers, most said to be of Comoran nationality, to disembark.
Police were called to quell hot tempers, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The passengers were put up in a hotel while their onward travel was worked out.
The official said the plane was seized because of a financial dispute over "the non-payment of a fine".
A source close to the incident told AFP: "The plane is grounded because of a dispute between the airline and the owner of the plane, the leasing company ILFC, which tasked a bailiff to seize the plane while it was on a stopover in Paris."
Yemenia is Yemen's flagship airline. It operates a fleet of seven Airbus planes, according to its website, including two A330s.
