Barcelona, Jan 15, (dpa/GNA) – A passenger on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Barcelona triggered a bomb alert, by creating an onboard internet hotspot and giving it a name that included a bomb threat, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Thursday.
The aircraft subsequently made an emergency landing in Barcelona, where security forces surrounded the jet, airport operator AENA said.
A private hotspot, on a smartphone for example, turns a handset into a small Wi-Fi router that can provide mobile internet access to other devices such as laptops or tablets.
The user needs to assign a name to the hotspot so others can find it.
The authorities said the aircraft was parked away from airport buildings and was searched by specialist units, once passengers and crew had disembarked, according to local media. No explosive device was found, AENA later said.
Turkish Airlines also confirmed later that no explosive device was found.
GNA