Pair remanded 
over aircraft 
‘bomb threats’

Taxi driver and supermarket employee Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar, 41, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court charged with endangering an aircraft.

The charge alleges the defendants made false threats that the “crew and passengers would be killed and the aircraft blown up before landing which was false, misleading or deceptive”.

The defendants, who were both born in Burnley, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses but their lawyers said they would deny the charge.

The duo were arrested on Friday at Stansted Airport after Pakistan International Airways flight PK709 from Lahore was diverted from Manchester.

The Boeing 777 plane, carrying 308 passengers, was shadowed into Stansted by an RAF Typhoon fighter jet.

Safdar, a married father-of-three, and Subhani, both of Nelson, Lancs, will appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on August 5.