An Italian bomb squad detonated an abandoned package found at Milan's Malpensa airport yesterday, but it turned out not to have any explosives inside, airport police said.

The small package was found in the restroom near the check-in area at the airport with a triggering device and a radio receiver attached to it, airport police said.

"It had all the external characteristics of a package bomb but there were no explosives," said Giovanni Pepe, a Milan airport police official. Airports and airlines across Europe are tightening security for US-bound flights after a man tried to set off explosives on a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas day.

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