Paris to Washington Air France flight makes emergency landing in Montreal

Flight AF054 was west of Montreal when the flight crew declared an emergency and diverted

An Air France flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Montreal after one of its business class seats overheated and set off an alarm.

The Boeing 777-300 was flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Washington Dulles International Airport when 'strong heat' was detected within the components of an empty seat, said Air France spokesman Cedric Landais.

He said the flight crew decided to divert to Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport as a precaution.

Flight AF054 was carrying 269 passengers and 17 crew when it landed safely shortly before 4pm local time on Thursday.

Mr Landais told MailOnline Travel that the seat's electrical system was deactivated and inspected.

The plane departed Montreal for Washington about two hours later once officials determined that the faulty seat posed no danger to the safe operation of the aircraft.

Despite the emergency passengers remained on the plane after it was met on the tarmac by emergency services.

A passenger seated near the front of the economy cabin tweeted a photo of firefighters inspecting the seat in the empty business class.

The passenger said there was no trace of smoke on board.

Firefighters inspected the seat after the plane made an emergency landing at an airport in Montreal