A Pegasus Airlines plane landed
at an Istanbul airport Friday after a passenger “said that there was a
bomb on board” and wanted the plane to land in Sochi, Russia, the site
of the Winter Olympics, said officials with Turkey’s Transportation
Ministry.
“While the plane was in the air, one of the passengers said that there was a bomb on board and asked the plane to not land in Sabiha Gokcen (in Turkey) but rather to land in Sochi,” Transportation Ministry official Habip Soluk said Friday on CNNTurk.
The Olympic Games began Thursday in Sochi amid intense security against potential terror attacks. Official opening ceremonies were being held Friday.
The 110 passengers are still on board the plane, a public diplomacy officer said Friday night in Turkey.
The alleged hijacker is of Ukrainian nationality, Soluk said.
The plane sent a hijacking signal, and after landing it was being held in a safe zone at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Turkish state media outlet TRT reported.
The plane had been flying a route between Kharkov in Ukraine, and Istanbul, the Transportation Ministry representative said. It wasn’t clear in which city the flight started.
“While the plane was in the air, one of the passengers said that there was a bomb on board and asked the plane to not land in Sabiha Gokcen (in Turkey) but rather to land in Sochi,” Transportation Ministry official Habip Soluk said Friday on CNNTurk.
The Olympic Games began Thursday in Sochi amid intense security against potential terror attacks. Official opening ceremonies were being held Friday.
The 110 passengers are still on board the plane, a public diplomacy officer said Friday night in Turkey.
The alleged hijacker is of Ukrainian nationality, Soluk said.
The plane sent a hijacking signal, and after landing it was being held in a safe zone at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Turkish state media outlet TRT reported.
The plane had been flying a route between Kharkov in Ukraine, and Istanbul, the Transportation Ministry representative said. It wasn’t clear in which city the flight started.
