Airline bomb attempts continue in the run up to Christmas

Early yesterday a bomb on board a parked airplane at Istanbul's second airport exploded, killing a cleaner. Later during the day police arrested a French woman in Montpellier who was reportedly preparing herself as a suicide bomber using a fake 'pregnant belly' to carry the explosives. The Turkish authorities are keeping quiet at this stage as to whether the cleaners of the parked plane had triggered the bomb accidentally or had in fact been trying to plant the bomb in the Pegasus charter plane; either way, the security lapse was significant and it will be hard to pinpoint who was behind the attempt - the PKK or ISIS.

One killed in explosion in Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photos

One cleaning staff member was killed early Dec. 23 at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport in an explosion whose cause has yet to be determined, while another was wounded.Zehra Yamaç sustained fatal injuries in the explosion that occurred at 2 a.m. on Dec. 23 on the airport’s apron, while Canan Burgulu was also wounded in the explosion.Burgulu is continuing to receive treatment at the Marmara Education and Research Hospital.“An explosion whose cause remains undetermined took place on the apron of Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport at 2:05 a.m. on Dec. 23, 2015,” Pegasus Airlines announced in a written statement.“Two fellow janitors who were inside a Pegasus aircraft at the time of the incident were wounded in the explosion and transferred to a hospital. There were no passengers inside the boarding bridge or inside our plane,” the statement added.Some witnesses, however, claimed to have heard three consecutive explosions.The company which operates the airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport Investment Development and Operation, also released a statement noting that an investigation was ongoing to determine the cause of the explosion.“There are no problems in take-offs or landings at our terminal; our flights are continuing smoothly,” it said.Police launched an investigation with a helicopter to determine the cause of the incident and apprehend any possible suspects.