Turkish Airlines flight 79 from #Istanbul arrived safely at SFO. Passengers learned of bombing while in flight. pic.twitter.com/QOxJ0bh9OU
— Sergio Quintana (@svqjournalist) June 29, 2016
Following a terror attack at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport Tuesday, officials at San Francisco International Airport say that security has been heightened and additional patrols planned to ensure the safety of travelers in the Bay Area.
According to the latest report from CNN, 41 people were killed and 238 injured Tuesday when three terrorists attacked the Turkish airport's arrivals hall and parking lot with gunfire and explosives. Though as of Wednesday morning no organization had claimed responsibility, "several officials said the attacks bear the hallmarks of ISIS," CNN reports.
In an emailed statement, SFO's duty manager writes that airport officials are "monitoring the events as they unfold to determine the exact nature of the incident."
"Immediately, what you can expect to see at SFO is a heightened state of vigilance, increased patrol by uniformed officers," SFO spokesperson Doug Yakel says.
ABC 7 reports that "people are certainly uneasy at Bay Area airports" following the overseas attacks, but that the FAA has already lifted a temporary hold placed on flights to and from Istanbul Tuesday.
Despite that, some local travelers were shaken enough by the attacks to change their travel plans.
"I wanted to re-rout my flights and just went to the Turkish Airlines counter and they rerouted me on Singapore Airlines," Palo Alto resident Narendra Advani told ABC 7.
Others, traveling from Istanbul to SFO, are just relieved they weren't caught in the attack.
"I was in disbelief," Istanbul resident Mina Kadigil told ABC 7 from SFO. "
I couldn't believe it because we were just there a few hours ago and I was like, if we would have missed our flight we would have still been there.".
Related: Bomb Scare At JFK's Terminal 5 Following Istanbul Attack, NYC Airports On High Alert