A Vistara flight that took off from India’s Mumbai heading to Germany’s Frankfurt was diverted to Erzurum airport in Türkiye due to a bomb threat, the Governor of the eastern Turkish province said Friday.
There were 247 people onboard flight no UK27, which landed in Erzurum, Governor Mustafa Çiftçi said.
Security forces, including police and gendarmerie squads, as well as emergency response teams from Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) were immediately dispatched to the airport, reports said.
Passengers were safely evacuated from the plane as bomb disposal teams examined it, which was cordoned off as part of precautionary measures. All air traffic was also suspended at the airport, reports said.
Governor Çiftçi told a news conference that flight attendants found a note in one of the washrooms, written on a piece of napkin saying that there was a bomb on the plane. The flight attendants then informed the pilots, who requested to land at Ordu airport but could not do so due to ongoing construction works. They were then instructed to divert to Erzurum airport.
The governor noted that authorities have not identified who left the note in the washroom.
