
A Turkish Airlines plane en route to Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, returned to Turkey after an abandoned mobile phone found onboard caused panic, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
An Airbus 320 with flight number TK-706 left Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport with 135 passengers at 3:05 am, but a mobile phone alarmed the cabin crew when no one claimed ownership.
The captain decided to land after informing police, who took strong precautionary measures in the apron. The plane landed at Atatürk Airport nearly 2.5 hours after taking off.
Police searched the cabin and cargo units.