Bomb threat diverts Turkish Airlines NYC-Istanbul flight to Halifax; plane evacuated

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A330 jet flying from New York City to Istanbul was sharply diverted mid-air and landed in Halifax, Canada due to a bomb threat. Firefighting crews and police have evacuated the aircraft.

256 passengers and crew have been moved to the terminal building, and “all is going smoothly,” the emergency services stated on their Twitter account.

Canadian emergency services and Royal Canadian Mounted Police are responding to the situation, East Hants Fire Service Dispatches reported on Facebook. The fire department earlier tweeted that a bomb threat has been made.

The flight in question is Turkish Airlines TYH2 / TK2. While the nature of the threat has not been confirmed, plane watchers on social media have speculated it may have been made online.

An investigation into the bomb threat is currently taking place, they added.

Six hours after the emergency landing, the plane with all but five passengers on board safely departed from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport to Istanbul, a CTV reporter in Halifax said on Twitter.

After a thorough search no explosives were found, Canadian police in Nova Scotia reported.