A TAROM flight flying from Tel Aviv to Bucharest made an emergency landing in Istanbul on Friday morning due to a bomb threat that later turned out to be false, the national airline said.

“TAROM informs that due to a bomb alert, the aircraft operating flight RO 154 Tel Aviv-Bucharest made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport at 03:30 local time, according to the decision made by the flight commander, who follows standard procedures for such situations.

There were 88 passengers on board. We note that the checks carried out by the competent authorities have been completed, and the report was found to be false,” the company said in a statement.

Passengers are currently being assisted on the ground at Istanbul airport and are due to depart around 11:30 local time for their final destination, Bucharest.

“We regret the discomfort caused to our passengers and reiterate the fact that TAROM’s priority is the safety of passengers and crews,” the quoted statement said (Agerpres).