Turkish Airlines flight diverted after “Bomb on Board” Wi-Fi network creates panic
05 Dec 2017
A Turkish Airlines flight was diverted from Nairobi on Thursday when flight crew detected a mobile Wi-Fi network named ''Bomb on Board.''
The flight from Nairobi to Istanbul was diverted to Khartoum, Sudan, after the suspiciously named Wi-Fi network came to the notice of flight staff. After the plane made an emergency landing, all 100 passengers were deplaned for inspection.
''Experts said the Wi-Fi network in question was created on board,'' Turkish Airlines said in a statement, according to Reuters. ''No irregularities were seen after security procedures were carried out, and passengers were brought back on the plane once boarding restarted.''
The airline did not reveal whether it was able to identify the passenger who created the Wi-Fi network.
According to commentators, this is not the first instance of the kind. Last year, a Qantas flight from Melbourne could not take off for two hours over security concerns after a passenger noticed a network called ''Mobile Detonation Device.''
In a statement, Turkish Airlines said the flight made an emergency landing at the Khartoum airport in Sudan, but the flight was safely resumed after security inspections on all passengers and the aircraft.
"Experts said the Wi-Fi network in question was created on board. No irregularities were seen after security procedures were carried out, and passengers were brought back on the plane once boarding restarted," Turkish Airlines said.
According to commentators, individuals can create personal Wi-Fi networks on devices such as mobile phones and name them what they want.
The airline said all 100 passengers were brought back on board the flight, but did not say whether authorities had identified the passenger who had created the Wi-Fi network.
