Passenger’s Wi-Fi name triggers bomb scare, forces Turkish Airlines emergency landing

A Turkish Airlines flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Barcelona Thursday morning after a passenger created a hoax threat by setting up a Wi-Fi hotspot suggesting there was a “bomb threat” on board, according to airline officials.  

The emergency protocol was alerted when Flight 1853 was already approaching its intended designation at Barcelona-El Prat Airport from Istanbul. Euronewssaid the Airbus A321, which was carrying 148 passengers and seven crew members, was directed to a designated area for inspection upon landing. 

“​​It was detected that a passenger had created an in-flight internet access point and named the network in a way that included a bomb threat,” Yahya Üstün, senior vice president of communications atTurkish Airlines, said in a post on X.

Simpleflyingreported that the flight was cruising over the Mediterranean when a flight crew member noticed an alarming Wi-Fi name that reportedly said, “I have a bomb, everyone will die.”  

PASSENGERS BAFFLED AND CONFUSED AFTER SCREAMS BURST FROM BENEATH TAXIING AIR CANADA PLANE

Read More → Greenland leaders push back on Trump’s calls for US control of the island: ‘We don’t want to be Americans’

Crews line up passenger’s luggage on the tarmac at Josep Tarradellas-El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain, January 15, 2026.(REUTERS/Albert Gea)

Necessary safety procedures were immediately initiated following the alert, Üstün said. 

The aircraft was then escorted by two fighter jets,one Spanishand one French, during the emergency protocol, Euronews reported.  

Read More → CDC reports 21st cruise ship norovirus outbreak this year, with nearly 100 people infected

CAUSE OF FAILED ALASKA AIRLINES LANDING GEAR THAT SENT PASSENGERS SCREAMING REVEALED

A sniffer dog inspects a line of luggage at an airport.(Reuters)

Following the aircraft’s safe landing, response crews inspected the plane and worked to identify the passenger who created the threatening Wi-Fi hotspot name,airline officialssaid.The operation involved Spanish authorities such as personnel from the Civil Guard, the National Police and Catalonia’s regional police and fire services, according to Euronews.

Read More → NASA finalizes strategy for human presence in space

According to footage from the scene, a dog was deployed to examine thepassenger’s luggageon the tarmac. 

However, “no irregularities were found” following a thorough inspection, according to officials.  

onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.

Read More → Union backs Ford worker who traded insults with Trump during Michigan plant visit

A Turkish Airlines plane is inspected by police after a false bomb threat following an emergency landing at Josep Tarradellas-El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain, on January 15, 2026.(REUTERS/Albert Gea)

“Our aircraft’s return flight will be carried out after the completion of passenger boarding,” Üstün said. 

Operations at Barcelona-El Prat Airport resumed normally following the explosive scare, Reuters reported.

Reuters contributed to this report.