#thenewscompany – A Turkish Airlines aircraft at Istanbul’s main airport was evacuated and searched after a note threatening a bomb attack was found on board. All 134 people, including the crew, who had been on board the flight from Ataturk Airport to the central Turkish city of Kayseri had been evacuated, a spokesman said. Another plane was later arranged for them yesterday (Monday), and the bomb threat was later revealed to be a hoax.

Earlier this year a Turkish Airlines flight was diverted to Shannon airport in Ireland where it made an emergency landing after officials discovered a handwritten bomb threat.The Istanbul-bound Boeing 777, which was carrying 209 passengers, landed safely at Shannon at around 11am on Saturday, January 23.

The diversion came after a handwritten note containing a ‘bomb threat’ was found on board and all passengers were allegedly told to search their own bags.All the passengers, including two infants, disembarked safely and were moved to a secure part of the airport while officials swept the plane.A spokesman for Turkish Airlines said the Boeing 777 was found to have no explosive devices on board and the flight took off to Istanbul.

Turkey has suffered a series of suicide bombings in its cities this year, including two attacks in tourist areas ofIstanbul blamed on Islamic State and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group. Last year an offshoot of the militant Kurdistan WorkersParty (PKK) claimed responsibility for a mortar attack atIstanbul’s second airport that killed one airport cleaner and injured another.

A Nato member and a candidate to join the European Union,Turkey is participating in the U.S.-led coalition fightingIslamic State in Syria and Iraq, and also battling a militantin surgency in its largely Kurdish southeast region.