Emergency landing at El Prat airport due to a false bomb threat on a flight
The presence of explosives was ruled out, and the reason for the alert was the name of an internet access point inside the plane.
BarcelonaAn emergency landing occurred at El Prat Airport this Thursday morning. As reported by Catalunya Ràdio and confirmed by ARA, a Turkish Airlines plane traveling from Istanbul to Barcelona had to make an emergency landing at El Prat due to a bomb threat on board. Sources at El Prat stated that the airport "is operating normally," but that due to the threat, it was necessary to "activate the protocols." According to sources familiar with the situation consulted by ARA, it was a false alarm, as it was confirmed that there were no explosives on board. The Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) have confirmed that the threat has been neutralized. The Guardia Civil (Spanish Civil Guard) has taken over the management of the incident. The passengers of the aircraft, which was arriving from Turkey, disembarked on their own and are in a safe area, according to Protecció Civil (Civil Protection), which activated the Aerocat emergency plan to monitor the "risk situation" at the airport. Everything points to the threat having originated from an internet network created by a passenger, indicating there was a bomb, and the police are investigating whether it was a hoax.
A suspicious connection
According to information obtained by ARA from knowledgeable sources, the flight itself reported the threat to air traffic control. Turkish Airlines sources explained to this newspaper that during the flight's approach to Barcelona, a passenger was detected creating an internet hotspot on board and configuring the network name in a way that raised suspicions of a bomb threat. As a result, the necessary air security procedures were immediately initiated. This threat was detected while the aircraft was flying over the Italian island of Sardinia. To escort it to El Prat Airport (where it was scheduled to land), two Italian and French military fighter jets were scrambled. These countries requested permission from Spain to enter its airspace.
According to Flight Radar, the plane was flying normally until, just before reaching Barcelona, it circled twice. The flight (TK1853 - THY1853) departed Istanbul Airport at 9:00 AM and arrived at El Prat Airport in Barcelona shortly after 11:00 AM. It made an emergency landing and was moved to a parking area away from the terminals, where it was surrounded by emergency vehicles while the situation was assessed.