Bolivian President's Plane Leaves Austria After Diplomatic Scramble It began as a seemingly offhand remark by the president of Bolivia, who suggested during a visit to Moscow that he might be happy to host Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former security contractor who is desperate to find asylum. It escalated into a major diplomatic scramble in which the Bolivian president's plane was rerouted to Austria, apparently because of suspicions that Mr. Snowden was aboard. Outraged Bolivian officials, insisting that Mr. Snowden was not on the plane, accused France, Portugal and Spain on Tuesday of acting under American pressure to rescind permission for President Evo Morales's plane to traverse their airspace on the way back to Bolivia. Low on fuel, the plane's crew won permission to land in Vienna. After the plane spent 13 hours overnight on the tarmac at the Vienna airport, it took off at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, according to Peter Kleemann, a spokesman for the airport. Austrian media reported the plane was bound for Bolivia, but that a stopover was planned in the Canary Islands. Austria's president, Heinz Fischer, told state radio that he visited Mr. Morales before his departure, to "ensure that our procedures here in Vienna were all correct." The two leaders also had the opportunity to discuss other topics, Mr. Fischer said, but declined to elaborate. In final comments to reporters, Mr. Morales referred to his unscheduled halt in Vienna as "being held hostage." He praised "the reaction from Latin American and certain European presidents, and above all the public protest for demonstrating that Portugal, Italy and Spain made a historic mistake." Asked by a reporter about Mr. Snowden's presence on his airplane, Mr. Morales declined to comment directly, but insisted it would be impossible to take along a passenger who no longer holds a valid passport. How could we have a person in our plane who has problems with his homeland? He has never sought asylum in Bolivia," Mr. Morales said. We are very responsible in our actions and our respect for international conventions. Bolivia's ambassador to the United Nations, Sacha Llorentty Solíz, said in Geneva on Wednesday that he believed the order to divert the plane came from the United States, Reuters reported. The ambassador added that the search of the plane violated international law, the report said. After the plane touched down in Vienna the foreign minister of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, said that "they say it was due to technical issues, but after getting explanations from some authorities we found that there appeared to be some unfounded suspicions that Mr. Snowden was on the plane." "We don't know who invented this big lie," Mr. Choquehuanca said at a news conference in La Paz, Bolivia. We want to express our displeasure because this has put the president's life at risk. The Austrian authorities said on Wednesday that Mr. Morales's plane remained at the Vienna airport while the crew awaited authorization to continue through other European countries" airspace. "The plane was, of course, allowed to land, although many other countries apparently were concerned and afraid that Snowden was on board," Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Austria's interior minister, told ORF, the Austrian public television network. Mr. Morales appeared Wednesday morning before reporters who had gathered at the airport as rumors spread that Mr. Snowden might be aboard, ORF reported. At the moment there is nothing we can do but wait for permission for a flyover. Spain is now consulting with the U.S.A. whether the plane can fly over Spanish airspace," Mr. Morales said, speaking through a translator. The president, his staff and four pilots were forced to spend the night in the airport's V.I.P. area. France, meanwhile, granted authorization for Mr. Morales's plane to cross through its airspace, Philippe Lalliot, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Wednesday morning. A spokesman for the Spanish Foreign Ministry said it would not comment on the flight issue. There was no immediate comment Wednesday from Portuguese officials. Rick Gladstone reported from New York, William Neuman from Caracas, Venezuela and Melissa Eddy from Berlin. Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris; Raphael Minder from Madrid; David M. Herszenhorn and Andrew Roth from Moscow; and Monica Machicao from La Paz, Bolivia.