The aircraft, with 148 passengers and seven crew, took off from Istanbul (Turkey) and landed in Barcelona, its destination, at 10:57 am (local time), with a delay of around 30 minutes
A plane made this Thursday (14) an emergency landing at the airport of due to a bomb threat, an alert that ended up being just a scare after it was discovered that the origin of the incident had been a joke on a passenger’s cell phone. The aircraft, with 148 passengers and seven crew, took off from Istanbul (Turkey) and landed in Barcelona, its destination, at 10:57 am (local time), with a delay of around 30 minutes compared to the scheduled time.
The plane touched down without incident and was taken to a safe zone for inspection. The passengers disembarked on their own and were taken to a security room, while the Civil Guard inspected the aircraft and ruled out the presence of explosive devices on board.
Faced with the bomb threat, the aircraft had to be escorted by a French fighter when flying over French airspace, which led the Spanish Ministry of Defense to authorize the military plane’s entry into Spanish territory. Turkish Airlines explained in a statement that, during the flight’s approach to Barcelona, it detected that a passenger had created an internet access point during the trip and configured the network name to include a bomb threat.
The Civil Guard has opened an investigation to determine the author of this false threat and will take statements from the passengers, who were also searched, in order to determine who is responsible.
*With information from EFE
