Turkish officials said a piece of paper with “bomb on board” written on it was found in a lavatory on the aircraft After a search of the plane by bomb disposal teams, the local governor declared that the bomb threat was false ANKARA/ISTANBUL: A bomb threat that forced a flight operated by India’s Vistara Airlines to make an emergency landing on Friday around 4:30 p.m. (1330 GMT) in Erzurum in eastern Turkiye was a false threat, the local governor said late on Friday. Turkish officials had said a piece of paper with “bomb on board” written on it was found in a lavatory on the aircraft, prompting bomb disposal teams to search the plane and evacuate its 234 passengers and 13 crew. A Vistara spokesperson had said a UK27 flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt diverted due to “a security concern.” “As of 23:30, we have completed all search and examination operations. As a result of the work we carried out, we found that the bomb threat was unfounded,” Erzurum Governor Mustafa Ciftci told reporters at the airport. Vistara said on the X media platform that the plane was diverted to Erzurum airport due to security reasons, adding that it had landed safely. Authorities also shut down the airspace over Erzurum as a precaution, the governor said. Ciftci also said a precautionary halt to landings and take-offs at the airport was lifted after inspections were completed. “All flights coming or leaving from our province will now be able to fly comfortably,” he said. A new aircraft would arrive from Mumbai at 7:25 a.m. local time on Saturday to take the passengers to Frankfurt, he said.