Turkish passenger plane makes unscheduled stop in Ukraine

KYIV – Reuters

A Pegasus Airlines plane flying from Moscow to Istanbul made an unscheduled landing at Odessa airport in southern Ukraine on Oct. 31 due to a problem passenger, an official of the Turkish carrier told Reuters.

Earlier, an Odessa police official said the plane was forced to land after a suspicious package was found in one of its lavatories during the flight from Russia to Turkey.

“The discovery forced the crew to take the decision to carry out an emergency landing at the nearest airport, which turned out to be Odessa International,” said Ruslan Forostyak, adviser to the head of Odessa regional police.

A Pegasus Airlines official confirmed one of its crews had made the unscheduled stop due to suspicious activity by a passenger, but said the plane had later resumed the flight.