Paris will become a no-fly zone to safeguard its wildly ambitious Olympic opening ceremony

PARIS (AP) — The head of the Paris airports operator says skies over the French capital will be closed completely for six hours as part of the massive security operation for the July 26 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. Augustin de Romanet, chairman of Aéroports de Paris, said airlines are being warned in advance about the no-fly zone and told they will have to fly around the restricted airspace. He was speaking Wednesday to broadcaster France Info. At least one French military AWACS surveillance aircraft will police the skies during the Olympics, using its powerful radar to watch for any potential airborne threats. Other military aircraft can be scrambled to intercept any flights that enter restricted Olympic airspace.