Updated, 22.03

A TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT from Istanbul to New York made an emergency landing at Dublin Airport this afternoon after a passenger mistook a modified mobile phone for a suspicious device.

Delta Airlines flight 73 from Ataturk to JFK, which had departed Istanbul at 10:15am Irish time, made an emergency landing in Dublin at around 4pm.

The landing was requested after a passenger reported seeing a suspicious device in a toilet cubicle.

The aircraft landed safely and was escorted by Gardaí and airport police to a remote area of the airfield.

It then emerged that the suspicious device was actually a passenger’s mobile phone, which had fallen out of the passenger’s pocket while they were in the toilet.

A source told TheJournal.ie that the phone in question was reasonably old and had a faulty charger port, which had required the owner to use an improvised wiring system to recharge its battery.

“They inserted two wires onto the battery under the phone cover, then taped it up leaving the wires exposed, to use when they needed to charge it,” the source said.

“Given the phone was wrapped in tape and had wires sticking out of it, it did look fairly suspicious.”

The owner only realised that their phone was missing after an announcement was made asking its owner to come forward, after which the plane opted to land in Dublin.

The Boeing 767-300, carrying 206 passengers and 11 crew, remained in Dublin to take on extra fuel before departing Dublin for New York shortly after 6:30pm.