ISTANBUL — A Turkish Airlines flight from France was forced to declare an emergency and divert to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Wednesday after severe wind gusts at Istanbul Airport prevented the aircraft from landing, pushing its fuel reserves to critical levels.
Flight TK1808, operated by an Airbus A321neo registered as TC-LPA, departed Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport in France at 11:00 AM local time bound for Istanbul Airport (IST).
High Winds Force Multiple Holding Patterns
What began as a routine flight across Europe took a turn around 1:00 PM as the aircraft approached its destination. Due to deteriorating weather conditions and heavy traffic congestion around Istanbul Airport, the crew was instructed to enter a holding pattern at 28,000 feet.
The aircraft was later cleared to descend to 12,000 feet, where it spent an additional 30 minutes circling in a secondary holding stack while waiting for an landing window.
Aborted Approaches and Emergency Declaration
Air traffic controllers eventually vectored Flight TK1808 for an approach to Runway 35 at Istanbul Airport. However, extreme wind gusts reaching up to 46 knots (approx. 85 km/h) made a safe touchdown impossible, forcing the flight crew to initiate a go-around.
The crew attempted a second approach to the airport, but persistent severe crosswinds forced a second aborted landing. Facing depleted fuel reserves from the extended holding times and multiple missed approaches, the flight crew broadcast a emergency code Squawk 7700 signaling a critical low-fuel situation to air traffic control.
Safe Touchdown at Sabiha Gökçen
Given priority routing, air traffic controllers immediately vectored the Airbus A321neo south across the Bosporus toward Istanbul’s secondary hub, Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW).
A few minutes after declaring the emergency, Flight TK1808 landed safely on Runway 08R at Sabiha Gökçen Airport without further incident. Emergency ground crews were on standby as a precaution, though no injuries were reported among the passengers or crew.
