SANTO DOMINGO (AP): Air France says a flight has been forced to return to a Dominican airport because of technical problems with its air conditioning.

Paris-bound Air France Flight 493 had been airborne for about 20 minutes late Thursday when the pilot noticed a technical problem and returned to the Caribbean capital.

Air France spokeswoman Maria Esther Velasquez says the Boeing 777 had a problem with its air conditioning system.

The passengers aboard were taken to nearby hotels to await later flights to Paris.

The incident occurs weeks after a Paris-bound Air France Airbus A330-200 crashed in the Atlantic, killing all 228 people aboard.