Bomb threat forces emergency landing on Smartwings flight from Prague to Split

Czech airline Smartwings has confirmed information by Croatian broadcaster N1 that a plane heading from Prague to Split made an emergency landing in Split after an anonymous person called in a bomb threat on the plane. The threat was not confirmed afterwards, according to HRT TV.

There were 146 people aboard the plane, who had to quickly disembark after landing, N1 writes. The information was also confirmed by Croatian police, who said the aircraft landed in accordance with standard procedure in the case of a bomb threat.

"A plane that was flying from Prague to Split was ordered to land in Split after the pilot reported emergency situation," N1 quoted the local air navigation service, adding that the crew received the threat after the plane had entered Croatia's airspace.

Later in the afternoon, HRT wrote that a police search of the plane and of all its passengers and members of the crew did not result in any findings, citing the Interior Ministry.

Information about the bomb threat was received by Prague airport in the afternoon.

"We immediately handed the information over to all security and operational units, the Czech police, the air carrier, and the Czech Air Navigation Service," airport spokeswoman Klára Divíšková said.

Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková said that after receiving the threat, the company coordinated its reaction with police and security forces, and acted in concert with standard procedures in such cases.

The plane landed in Split at 13:49, with 141 passengers and five members of the crew aboard. All had to disembark quickly, without their baggage, while the plane was examined by Croatian security forces including bomb disposal experts.