A manhunt is underway as officials are searching for two passengers who were part of a group of four who fled a Turkish Airlines aircraft after it performed an emergency landing in Malta.
Flight TK619 was enroute to Marrakesh Menara Airport (RAK) in Morocco from Istanbul Airport (IST) on New Year’s Day. An emergency landing was requested at Malta International Airport (MLA), when one Moroccan passenger reportedly felt unwell during the flight.
The B737 MAX 8 aircraft was able to perform the emergency landing safely at MLA Airport at around 12:03 local time.
However, upon landing four passengers managed to escape from the aircraft while it was still on the runway. Footage taken from inside an aircraft (it is not known whether it is flight TK619 or another plane), shows one of the persons running towards the grassy part of the airport, away from the runway.
Çok Özel Görüntüler📹
— HavaSosyalMedya (@HavaSosyalMedya) January 2, 2025
Türk Hava Yolları’nın İstanbul-Marakeş uçuşunda yaşanan ilginç “apronda kaçış” olayının görüntülerine ulaştık. Dün haberini paylaştığımız bu ilginç olayda, Malta’ya divert eden uçaktan bazı yolcular aprona atlayarak kaçmaya çalışmıştı. #TK619… pic.twitter.com/shLySSxUL7
The police and Armed Forces of Malta were soon alerted and a manhunt was launched.
The passenger who reported feeling unwell during the flight was placed under arrest.
Two and a half hours after its emergency landing, the flight took off and continued its journey towards Marrakesh.
At 21:00 on January 1, 2024, local media outlet Malta Today provided an update that two of the four passengers had been caught by police, while two others remain on the run.
There is currently no information released that explains the passengers’ motives behind fleeing and escaping into Malta.