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Police: man at centre of Emirates security alert is Turkish citizen

Police: man at centre of Emirates security alert is Turkish citizen

Greek police have identified the man at the center of a security alert on an Emirates flight to New York that forced the airplane return to Athens

They say the man is a Turkish citizen who has been living permanently in Greece for the last number of years.

ERT television said the flight recall was made following a request by US authorities. Greek police officials did not confirm the source of the request, when asked by the Associated Press.

The mobilization began after an email sent to the US embassy in Athens. In it, it was stated that the person in question was boarding one of the two evening Emirates flights from Athens.

Officials at the Athens airport said Emirates flight EK209 to Newark Airport in New Jersey returned to Greece’s capital two hours after taking off and landed safely. The plane was escorted back through Greek airspace by two Greek air force F-16s, military officials said.

The second Emirates flight, No. EK210, which was scheduled to fly to Dubai, was stopped in Athens before takeoff. Police said information received about a potentially suspicious passenger was not confirmed by the inspections.

In a statement, Dubai-based Emirates acknowledged the disruptions “due to security checks requested by the authorities.” The carrier did not elaborate, though it apologized to passengers for the inconvenience. [Kathimerini/AP]

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