Two held after RAF shadows passenger fight plane

Two men are being questioned by police on suspicion of endangering an aircraft after an RAF Typhoon was scrambled to escort a passenger plane from Pakistan that was dramatically diverted to London’s Stansted Airport.
Passengers disembark Pakistan International Airlines flight PK709Passengers disembark Pakistan International Airlines flight PK709
Passengers disembark Pakistan International Airlines flight PK709

The pair, aged 30 and 41, were arrested by police who boarded the plane at Stansted and removed them.

Reports last night said there had been a fight on board the flight from Lahore to Manchester, with the incident not thought to have been terror-related.

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One passenger reported having heard a man threaten to blow up the plane in a row with fellow travellers. Another reported that cabin crew said two men had repeatedly tried to get into the cockpit.

Police said no suspicious items had been recovered though the plane would be subject to forensic examination.

The RAF jet was scrambled shortly before Pakistan International Airlines flight PK709’s scheduled arrival in Manchester at 2pm.

Relatives waiting there included Zohaib Sattar, 24, from Huddersfield, whose wife Iqra Anwar, 24, and father Abdul Sattar, 57, were on board. He said: “My father said there was no warning or threat, all of a sudden the plane just turned around.”