16 JAN: A French court has ordered Air France to pay 146,000 euros ($180,000) to compensate a passenger who said he was served poisoned coffee on a domestic flight in 2006, news agency AFP reports.
Marc-Fredaine Niazaire was taken ill during the flight from Bordeaux to Paris and admitted to hospital on landing.
He was operated on for a problem with his oesophagus and sued Air France for poisoning him with a "seriously toxic liquid" used to clear drains.
A criminal enquiry in 2010 found there was nothing to prosecute, after which Mr Niazaire launched a civil case seeking 680,000 euros ($846,718) in damages.
"The symptoms arose at the same time as Mr Niazaire ingested a coffee and biscuit. They appeared suddenly," the court ruling said, adding that Mr Niazaire had never previously been treated for stomach problems.
