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Man arrested over alleged bomb hoax after plane escorted into Manchester Airport by RAF jets

A man has been arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat after a passenger plane was escorted into Manchester Airport by RAF jets.

The Qatar Airways flight QR23 from Doha was flanked onto the runway by fighter jets after the pilot reported about a ‘possible device’ onboard.

When the Airbus A330 plane landed it was immediately attended to by emergency services before the man was taken off by armed police.

Police have confirmed the man pulled from the flight has been arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat.

An RAF spokesman said later that the plane had landed safely and the incident was being handled by civilian authorities.

He said: “We can confirm that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in their quick reaction alert role this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance.

“The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities.”

The bomb threat was allegedly made in an envelope which was passed to a crew member.

A statement from Qatar Airways said: “The crew onboard had received a threat about a possible device on board and Qatar Airways immediately took all the necessary precautions to alert British authorities.

“The crew is now fully assisting police at the airport with their inquiries.

“The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is our top priority.

“As this is a matter of a police investigation, we cannot comment further at this time.”

The flight was carrying 269 passengers and 13 crew members, with many only aware of the incident after looking online as many people on the ground posted about the incident.

All passengers were escorted safely from the plane. 

Image courtesy of Becky Sullivan, with thanks

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