Turkey-bound plane lands after takeoff in Uganda over safety concerns

Representational image. Pic/iStock

A Turkish Airlines plane with flight number TK612 en route from Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to Istanbul did not proceed to its final destination over safety precautions, an air transport regulator said on Sunday.

The Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), a state-run air transport regulator, posted on X that the A333 aircraft successfully returned and landed at Entebbe International Airport at 1050 hours on Sunday after safely circling Ugandan airspace for more than three hours to reduce fuel to the required safe landing weight, Xinhua news agency reported.

The UCAA said all the 269 people on board were safe. The regulator did not mention what the safety issue was but said, "The precautionary measures taken are standard safety procedures in the aviation industry."

Turkish Airlines is the flag carrier of Turkey and as of June 2024, it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and the Americas.

The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport than any other airline in the world and flies to 131 countries, more than any other airline.

With an operational fleet of 24 cargo aircraft, the airline's cargo division Turkish Cargo serves 82 destinations.

The airline also owns a low-cost subsidiary, AJet.

The airline's corporate headquarters are on the grounds of Istanbul Atatürk Airport in Yesilkoy, Bakırkoy, Istanbul.

The airline's main base is Istanbul Airport in Arnavutkoy. It has been a member of the Star Alliance network since 1 April 2008.

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