A man identified as a “suspicious passenger” aboard one of two Emirates planes on Thursday evening – departing or having departed from the Athens International Airport – was actually in his residence in the Greek capital.
Greek authorities went into “emergency overdrive” on Thursday night after an intelligence report – allegedly from the US CIA – claimed that a dangerous suspect was on board one of the two Emirates planes. Moreover, the suspect was, according to various and initial media reports, an “Islamist terrorist” of “Arab descent”.
No such individual was found on the planes, one of which was taxiing down the runway as part of its scheduled take-off for Dubai, while the other was diverted back to Athens while flying over Sardinia on its way to New York City.
A day later, the actual individual alluded to was reportedly identified as a 35-year-old Turkish national who fled Turkey with his family over links to the Gulen movement. The man had no record of any interest with local law enforcement, in fact.
Moreover, another report, exclusively broadcast by the Athens-based Mega Channel, states that the CIA email sent to Greek authorities did not refer to a major danger or risk.
The passengers and crews of both flights spent the night at airport hotels before resuming their journeys on Friday.
