11.   The French civil aviation authority said it would ensure minimal service during the strike.

12.   The state of the black box was kept secret until after it was sent to French aviation experts for inspection, the newspaper said.

13.   There was no immediate comment from the French aviation authority DGAC.

14.   There was no immediate comment from the French aviation authority DGAC, which rejected the BA request to move to Orly, south of Paris.

15.   French civil aviation authorities said there were long delays on international flights, with planes to and from Spain suffering delays of about five hours.

16.   French civil aviation authorities DGAC also said it was sending four experts to join the investigation.

17.   In a statement, BA said it had made a request to the French civil aviation authorities for a transfer to Orly.

18.   In August last year, at the height of furore here over French nuclear testing, French aviation company Dassault was excluded from bidding for the training jet contract.

19.   In Paris, the French civil aviation authority announced it would send four investigators to the scene of the crash to help Romanian authorities.

20.   A French civil aviation team was due to arrive later in the day, a French military source said.