One person was killed when an explosion hit an Istanbul airport overnight and damaged five planes, a Turkish minister said, adding that it was still too early to confirm whether the blast had been caused by a bomb.
The blast at Sabiha Gokcen, the city’s second airport and located on its Asian side, occurred shortly after 2:00 a.m. (midnight GMT), local budget carrier Pegasus said, fatally wounding a cleaner on one of its planes.
“There was damage to five airplanes in total due to the impact of shrapnel. Weakness in the airport’s security is out of the question. All international security standards are being implemented,” Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters.
“On the cause of the incident, security and intelligence teams are carrying out investigations. But it’s too early to reach a verdict or comment on it yet.”
Bomb attacks by Kurdish, leftist and Islamist militants are common in Turkey. A three-decade-old conflict between the state and the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has flared up in the mainly Kurdish southeast since the collapse of a ceasefire in July.
The airport’s owner, Malaysia Airports, referred to more than one explosion “at the tarmac area”, adding that normal flight operations had resumed by 0200 GMT.
No passengers were in the area at the time of the airport blast.
A photo on Dogan news agency’s website showed a hole in one plane window. Video footage showed investigators taking photos of a terminal building wall, dozens of meters from the nearest planes.
Police armed with rifles and protective vests imposed tight security at entrances to the airport, searching vehicles while a police helicopter circled overhead, state-run Anadolu Agency said.
Sabiha Gokcen served around 26 million passengers in the first 11 months of the year, its website said, less than half the number at the main Ataturk airport on the European side of the city.
Reuters
Turkish Airlines flight TK2 diverted to YHZ over bomb threat
Turkish Airlines plane resumed its trip to Istanbul around 6:50 a.m. AT Sunday after being diverted to Halifax Stanfield International Airport because of a bomb threat.
Five passengers were too afraid to re-board the plane and will have to make their own travel arrangements to get to Turkey.
No explosives were found on the Turkish Airlines plane, said RCMP.
Turkish Airlines Flight #2 was travelling from New York City to Istanbul when the threat was made.
RCMP searched the aircraft and luggage with police service dogs. At 4:25 a.m AT on Sunday the RCMP completed their search and no explosives were found.
The plane was then released back to Turkish Airlines, said RCMP.
There were 256 passengers and crew members on board, the Halifax airport tweeted early Sunday morning. There were no injuries.
The RCMP said in a series of tweets that the threat came in at 11:50 p.m. AT on Saturday.
“RCMP is looking to establish the origin of the threat and identify the person or persons responsible,” one tweet said.
Police said they will not comment on the details of the bomb threat.
Peter Spurway, a spokesperson for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, said the airport was notified of the diverted flight shortly after midnight. It landed at 12:53 a.m. AT on Sunday.
The passengers disembarked about an hour later and were transported by bus to the terminal, where Spurway said they would be interviewed by the RCMP and processed by the Canada Border Services Agency.
This is the second flight diverted to Halifax due to a bomb threat in less than a week. On Tuesday night, a bomb threat forced Air France Flight 55 to divert to the airport with 262 people aboard.
Police searched the plane and found no explosives. That flight left Halifax on its way to France around 3:45 a.m. AT Thursday morning.
The Halifax Stanfield International Airport is no stranger to hosting planes in trouble. The airport has said it receives a couple of diverted planes every month, or about 20 in the run of a year.
Those planes divert to Nova Scotia for various reasons, including mechanical trouble or medical emergencies.
CBC News
A plane of the Turkish Airlines to link Istanbul to New York was diverted to Canada because of a bomb threat. The transfer of passengers and crew members was carried out safely at the Halifax airport.
A bomb threat caused a change in flight plan for an aircraft company Turkish Airlines between New York and Istanbul. The aircraft, carrying 256 passengers and crew members, was diverted to Canada.
The Canadian mounted police (RCMP) said it had landed safely in Halifax, capital of Nova Scotia in the east. “The RCMP is trying to establish the origin of this threat and to identify the person or persons responsible,” she said on Twitter.
Police said no details would be given on the bomb threat. “This report to the investigation,” said the RCMP in Nova Scotia. The aircraft was searched by police with dogs trained to detect explosives. Halifax Airport has specified that the transfer of the 256 passengers and crew members of the aircraft was carried out without a hitch.
The bomb threat was received on Saturday at 10:50 p.m. local (2:50 GMT) after takeoff the plane of the Turkish company of the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The plane landed in Halifax shortly before 1 am (5:00 GMT).
This incident comes as civil aviation officials are on high alert following the attacks of 13 November which made 130 dead and 350 injured in Paris. Two Air France flights had been diverted earlier this week due to bomb scares.
With AFP and Reuters
France 24 (via Google Tranlaste)
British Citizen dies at Istanbul Atatürk airport
A British woman has died at an Istanbul airport, her employer has confirmed.
Ex-BBC journalist Jacky Sutton, 50, is understood to have been found dead in a toilet at the city’s Ataturk airport. The circumstances are unclear.
She was the acting Iraq director for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and had been travelling to Irbil, northern Iraq.
The Foreign Office said it was “providing consular assistance” to her family.
BBC correspondent Ben Ando said Ms Sutton arrived at Ataturk Airport on a flight from London on Saturday and had a two-hour wait for a connecting flight, which she apparently missed.
“Local media are reporting that she didn’t have enough money to purchase a replacement ticket and then she was found dead in the toilets a couple of hours later,” he added.
“What exactly happened though is not known.”
The London-based IWPR supports local journalism in countries affected by conflict and crisis.
Its previous Iraq director Ammar Al Shahbander was killed in a car bomb attack in Baghdad on 2 May and a memorial service was held for him in London last week, according to the IWPR website. Ms Sutton had been in London attending the service.
Executive director Anthony Borden called for an “open and transparent” investigation into her death.
Mr Borden told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme Ms Sutton “had a very positive nature and outlook, and very significant work to get on with”.
In a statement, he added: “She was extremely bright, highly competent, and well able to handle herself in difficult environments, and she was universally loved. We are in total shock.”
‘Remarkable contributions’
Ms Sutton had been studying for a PhD at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. Her research focused on international development support to female media professionals in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2013.
Centre director Prof Amin Saikal said they were “deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic death of one of its brilliant PhD students”.
Prof Saikal said: “She was not only an outstanding research scholar, but a highly valued friend and colleague who made remarkable contributions to the work and activities of the centre.”
Ms Sutton worked for the BBC World Service between 1998 and 2000, reporting from Africa, the Middle East and London.
She also served in senior roles at the United Nations.
BBC News