The call was given about a suspicious device onboard
Fighter jets were scrambled to a major airline’s passenger plane with more than 140 passengers onboard after worries over a “terrorist” device.
The military planes took to the air to fly alongside the Turkish airline flight after the captain raised the alarm about a fishy device and a possible “terrorist threat”.
According to Spanish outlet El Nacional, flight TK1853 from Istanbul to Barcelona held 148 passengers when it took off at 11am on Thursday.
The outlet said the Airbus A321 was guided into a special section of Barcelona airport “with the possibility of an artefact inside” after raising the alarm an hour earlier over Italian airspace.
Both Spanish and French armed forces were involved in the incident, guiding the plane down to runway two after spending time circling over the Catalan airport.
Officers from the Spanish Civil Guard then rushed onto the plane. El Nacional added: “Beyond the fact that the operation is underway, no official source has given details of the evolution of the emergency.”
Each passenger’s luggage is reportedly being checked in the search for an explosive device, but according to local reports, nothing has been found yet.
The incident was also well handled by El Prat Airport, with normal operations being able to be carried out during the time.
Officials at the airport have triggered a general alert and activated the crisis committee, something that is standard procedure for an incident of this nature.
Some outlets are reporting that the incident is a false alarm, but officers at the airport have taken the passengers to a special section of the airport as they continue their investigation.
