Bomb threat on TAROM plane leads to emergency landing

A plane of Romanian airline TAROM was forced to make an emergency landing in Istanbul due to a bomb threat.

The aircraft was returning from Tel Aviv to Bucharest on Thursday night when the pilot received a warning about the presence of a bomb on board.

88 passengers were on board the plane. The crew decided to make an emergency landing in Istanbul.

"Due to a warning regarding a possible bomb on board, the aircraft operating flight RO 154 Tel Aviv-Bucharest made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport at 03:30 local time, following the decision taken by the flight commander, who abided by standard procedures for such situations," TAROM said in a press release cited by Digi24.

Once on the ground, the aircraft was checked and the bomb threat proved to be false. TAROM stated that passengers received assistance at the Istanbul airport and that the aircraft is scheduled to take off for Bucharest at around 11:30 local time.

"We regret the discomfort caused to our passengers and reiterate that TAROM's priority is the safety and security of its passengers and crews," the company said.

(Photo source: Colicaranica | Dreamstime.com)