NEED TO KNOW
A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Barcelona, Spain, after a reported "bomb threat" appeared in a passenger's hotspot network name
The incident occurred during a flight from Istanbul to Barcelona on Thursday, Jan. 15
After a thorough search of the aircraft, authorities determined there were no explosive and subsequently cleared the alert
A Turkish Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Thursday after a passenger allegedly included “bomb threat” in their WiFi network name.
Turkish Airlines flight 1853 from Istanbul to Barcelona, Spain, departed shortly before 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, Jan. 15, according to FlightAware. As the Airbus A321 neared Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, the aircraft looped around twice off the eastern coast of Spain.
Adria Puig/Anadolu via Getty
A Turkish Airlines flight make an emergency landing in Barcelona, Spain.As the plane approached its final destination, “it was detected that a passenger had set up an in-flight internet access point and configured its network name to include a bomb threat,” according to an X post from Turkish Airlines’ senior vice president of communications, Yahya Üstün.
The executive said flight crews subsequently initiated the “necessary procedures” in accordance with “flight safety protocols.”
After landing, Üstün said the proper authorities conducted a search of the aircraft “within the framework of international aviation security rules.”
David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty
Passengers board the Turkish Airlines plane after the "bomb threat" was cleared.In a follow-up post, Üstün shared that “no irregularities were found” during the search.
“Efforts have been initiated to identify the passenger in question and to carry out the legal process,” he wrote. “Our aircraft’s return flight will be carried out after the completion of passenger boarding.”
In a statement shared with the Associated Press and Reuters, the Spanish Civil Guard confirmed nothing was found during a thorough inspection of the aircraft. The alert was subsequently deactivated.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The department added that police have launched an investigation to determine who was behind the hoax.
Neither representatives for El Prat Airport nor the Spanish Civil Guard in Barcelona immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Read the original article on People
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Vote in favor of Your Number one Cake Type - 2The Best Business visionaries Under 30
- 3Chicago reports first rabies-positive dog in 61 years. What we know.
- 4How Much Has the Iran War Cost the Average American Per Day?
- 5This Asian country is the next hot travel destination, and this is one of its best hotels
- Why are malnutrition deaths soaring in America?
- Why won't NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts land on the moon when they get there?
- A red meat allergy from tick bites is spreading – and the lone star tick isn’t the only alpha-gal carrier to worry about
- Vaccine exemptions for religious or personal beliefs are rising across the U.S.
- The Specialty of Cleaning up: Change Your Space and Brain
- Key takeaways from Sen. Bill Cassidy's interview on 'Face the Nation' with Margaret Brennan
- No more attempts to free whale stranded off Germany, officials say
- Brazil's agricultural research agency gets cannabis research greenlight
- Step by step instructions to Analyze Senior Insurance Contracts Really.
