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A military fighter jet escorts a passenger jet as it comes in to land at Manchester airport, Manchester, England, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. Police say they have arrested a man on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat after Qatar Airways Flight 23 landed with a military fighter escort at Britain's Manchester Airport. (AP)
Britain scrambled two fighter jets on Tuesday to escort a Qatar Airways plane into Manchester airport after the pilot reported a possible explosive device on board. A passenger was later arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat.
The incident, which prompted the authorities to close the northern England airport for 25 minutes, briefly raised fears of a terrorism attack.
Qatar Airways said the Airbus A330-300 plane was flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester with 269 passengers and 13 crew on board.
A man is escorted off a Qatar Airways aircraft by police at Manchester airport in Manchester, northern England August 5, 2014. (REUTERS)
A Reuters photographer saw armed police remove a handcuffed male passenger dressed in baggy trousers and a sports shirt from the plane.
"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," Britain's Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
"The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities."
A Qatar Airways aircraft is seen surrounded by emergency vehicles at Manchester airport in Manchester, northern England August 5, 2014. (Reuters)
Greater Manchester Police said on their official Twitter feed that they had detained one man in connection with the incident.
"A man who was on board the plane ... has been arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat," they said.
Britain has a standard response to such incidents which always involves scrambling fighter jets and emergency services.
In May 2013, fighter jets escorted a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane to Stansted Airport near London where police went on board and arrested two men on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.
A media statement from the airline said “Qatar Airways can confirm that flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester, an Airbus A330-300, landed safely at Manchester Airport ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 13:15. There were 269 passengers and 13 Qatar Airways crew on board. The crew 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.”
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