ISTANBUL, Turkey -- Turkish Airlines said it diverted an Istanbul-to-Sao Paulo flight with 256 people aboard to Morocco after finding a note with the word "bomb" in the toilet.

The airline later declared Monday's incident on Flight TK15 a hoax after the Boeing 777 was searched in Casablanca. It said the passengers would be returned to the plane, which would continue to Sao Paulo.

Turkish Airlines says it is standard procedure to make an emergency landing under such circumstances.

The airline said a similar incident occurred Sunday on an Istanbul flight to Tokyo. That flight returned to Istanbul before being cleared. The airline said it believes the two incidents were unrelated.