Nearly 70 staff at Paris' main international airport have had their security passes pre-emptively blocked or revoked this year over extremism fears, highlighting the growing safety concerns around terror attacks this year.
A spokesperson from airport management company Aeroports de Paris (ADP) confirmed to CNBC that around 70 airport staff hired to work in the most secure zones of the Charles de Gaulle Airport have had their security passes blocked since January over "radicalization" fears.
It comes amid speculation that the fatal Russian passenger jet crash in October could have been caused by a bomb planted by airport baggage staff. The crash killed all 224 people on board.
ADP said passes weren't revoked from their own staff, but from workers hired by some of the 500 external companies subcontracted for aircraft refueling, runway operations and retail. Of the 86,000 people who work at Charles de Gaulle Airport, only 1,000 are required the highest security clearance.
The representative explained that final security decisions were made by local police. CNBC was not able to reach authorities by press time.
Speaking to French media on Sunday, ADP Chairman and CEO Augustin de Romanet added that 4,000 lockers have been searched, and military presence increased by 50 percent since the Paris terror attacks alone.
The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the November 13 attacks targeted a number of civilian venues including the a cafe, soccer stadium and the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.
ADP reported a 6 percent annual drop in traffic in the last half of November following the attacks.