France denies there was any suspicious activity on those canceled Air France flights to Los Angeles, but one person who didn’t show up for a Christmas Eve flight is a trained pilot: Suspicious Passengers Questioned In France.

Police in Paris questioned 13 people who had checked in for two Air France flights that were canceled Christmas Eve because of a terrorism warning from U.S. authorities, but no evidence of wrongdoing was found, the French Interior Ministry said. All 13 were released.

But U.S. officials said they are suspicious about some of the passengers who did not show up at the airport to claim their seats on the ultimately aborted Flight 68 from Paris to Los Angeles. One of those who did not appear for the Christmas Eve flight apparently is a trained pilot, one U.S. official said.

Has our airport security improved so much that Islamic terrorbots think it’s safer to commandeer a foreign flight? Or are they more afraid of American passengers, filled with fury and visions of Flight 93, who will do whatever it takes to stop the hijackers?