UK

Man arrested after plane escorted into Manchester airport

RAF jet flew alongside Qatar Airways flight after hoax report about ‘device on board’

A man is escorted off a Qatar Airways aircraft by police at Manchester airport in Manchester. The plane was escorted into the airport by an RAF jet after the pilot reported that a suspect device was possibly on board, police said. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters.
A man is escorted off a Qatar Airways aircraft by police at Manchester airport in Manchester. The plane was escorted into the airport by an RAF jet after the pilot reported that a suspect device was possibly on board, police said. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters.
Tue Aug 05 2014 - 14:41

Police have taken a passenger from a plane which landed at Manchester airport with a Royal Air Force escort amid fears there was a device on board.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat, a spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said.

The security alert began as the jet was approaching the airport.

A photo taken from the Twitter feed of @Rob_Whittaker1 with permission from copyright holder @AgnoscoAnimus shows an incoming plane being escorted into Manchester Airport by the RAF “as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board”. Photograph: Benjamin Wilson/PA Wire.
A photo taken from the Twitter feed of @Rob_Whittaker1 with permission from copyright holder @AgnoscoAnimus shows an incoming plane being escorted into Manchester Airport by the RAF “as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board”. Photograph: Benjamin Wilson/PA Wire.

Greater Manchester police said the RAF involvement came “as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board”.

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A spokesman for the airport said the plane was operated by Qatar Airways. The RAF plane was a Typhoon from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

After the plane landed safely, Greater Manchester Police said: “A passenger has been taken off the plane by officers at Manchester Airport. We will work to get others off as swiftly and safely as possible.”

The drama started at about 1.30pm with GMP confirming that the A330 had been escorted into Manchester by the RAF “as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board”.

The Ministry of Defence declined to comment.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said flights had been suspended for some 25 minutes but that normal services had resumed at about 2pm.

Agencies