Emergency landing at El Prat airport due to a false bomb threat on a flight

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 Civil Guard has taken charge 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 Civil Protection, which activated the Aerocat emergency plan to monitor the "risk situation" at the airport.

Flight (TK1853 - THY1853) departed Istanbul Airport at 9:00 AM and arrived at El Prat Airport in Spain shortly after 11:00 AM. It made an emergency landing and was moved to a parking lot away from the terminals, where it was surrounded by emergency vehicles while the situation was assessed.

A suspicious connection

According to Flight Radar, the aircraft was flying normally until, just before reaching Barcelona, it circled twice. According to information obtained by the ARA from knowledgeable sources, the flight crew itself reported the threat to air traffic control. Turkish Airlines sources explained to the ARA that during the flight's approach to Barcelona, a passenger was detected creating an internet hotspot on board and configuring the network name to include a bomb threat. As a result, the necessary air security procedures were immediately initiated.