A Jet2 flight from the Turkish holiday resort of Dalaman to Manchester was intercepted by two Typhoon fighter jets and escorted to Stansted Airport in Essex after an alleged bomb threat was made against the flight.
In a statement, the Royal Air Force said its “Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft were launched this evening from RAF Coningsby to intercept a civilian aircraft that was causing concern.”
The RAF confirmed that the Airbus A321 aircraft landed safely at Stansted Airport – a designated airport for dealing with terror threats and hijackings.
The incident closed down the airport for a brief period but a spokesperson for Stansted said that departures and arrivals had now resumed.
Jet2 confirmed in a series of tweets that flight LS922 had been diverted to Stansted “under the direction of UK Air Traffic Control” and had been sent to a remote part of the large airfield where police met the aircraft.
It was not immediately clear who had made the threat against the aircraft although there was speculation that a passenger onboard the plane was responsible.
