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The bomb threat that forced a Vistara Airlines flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt to divert to the Turkish city of Erzurum for an emergency landing on Friday was a hoax, officials said following a search operation.
The Mumbai-Frankfurt Vistara Flight UK27 landed at the Erzurum airport safely at around 7:05 pm, the airline said on Friday in a statement. According to Turkish officials, a piece of paper with "bomb on board" written on it was found in a lavatory on the aircraft carrying 234 passengers and 13 crew.
"As of 11:30 pm (local time), we have completed all search and examination operations. As a result of the work we carried out, we found that the bomb threat was unfounded," Erzurum governor Mustafa Ciftci said, adding that the additional security arrangements at the airport were lifted after inspection.
As per a statement from the airline, customers, crew and the aircraft were cleared by security agencies and that all necessary checks were conducted. The company also said it was sending an alternate aircraft to Turkey by 12.25 am (local time) on Saturday to take the passengers to Frankfurt.
