Grounded Turkish Airlines plane leaves for Istanbul from Delhi

New Delhi, July 8: An Istanbul-bound Turkish Airlines flight from Bangkok which landed in emergency conditions here on Tuesday following a bomb scare [Turkish aircraft makes emergency landing at IGI airport after bomb threat], departed early today for its destination after being grounded for over 13 hours.

The flight took off at 0316 hrs from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, ATC sources said. The aircraft with 157 passengers and crew on board had landed at the Delhi airport at 1:34 pm yesterday.

The flight sought an emergency landing after its pilot was informed about a message scribbled on the mirror of a washroom with a lipstick warning about the presence of a bomb in the cargo hold.

"When the aircraft was in Indian air space near Nagpur the crew noticed a note saying bomb in CGR (cargo). The crew informed the pilot who got in touch with the Nagpur Air Traffic Controller who advised that the aircraft land in Delhi," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey had said.

The plane was taken to an isolated area of the airport after which all 144 passengers and 13 crew were off-loaded as was their luggage, which were subjected to security checks.

The Bomb Threat Assessment Committee, a multi-agency body, said, since the threat was "specific", the normal drill prescribed for such situations was followed including questioning of passengers and crew members.

PTI