Photo: REUTERS
Reading Time: < 1 minuteRoyal Air Force fighter jets escorted a Pakistani civilian airliner to Stansted Airport near London after a passenger became disruptive, police and the British military said.
The air force said RAF Typhoon jets were launched from an eastern England air base Tuesday afternoon, and that the plane “was intercepted and safely escorted to Stansted Airport,” north of the British capital.
Stansted said the plane was a Pakistan International Airlines flight from Lahore bound for London’s Heathrow Airport.
Essex Police said that the diversion was due to a “disruptive passenger.” It said officers were speaking to people on the plane and the airport remained open.
The force said “this is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter.”
The airport said the plane was likely to continue its journey to Heathrow once police had finished their inquiries.
“This is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter.”
A spokesman for the RAF confirmed the incident had been handed over to the police.
CAA Pakistan wrote: “PIA flight bound for Heathrow from Lahore has been diverted to Stansted due to reasons aboard the aircraft.”
PIA’s public affairs spokesman Danya Gilani said: “UK authorities received some vague security threat through an anonymous phone call regarding PIA’s Lahore-Heathrow PK-757 before its landing at Heathrow, after which, as per their standard procedures the aircraft was diverted to Stansted airport.