Two men charged over Pakistan plane alert
Two men have been charged with endangering an aircraft after a passenger jet was diverted mid-flight to Stansted Airport by RAF typhoon jets, police confirm.
Taxi driver Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar, 41, both from Nelson in Lancashire, will appear in court tomorrow, Essex Police said.
The charges are in connection with an incident on Friday involving a Pakistan International Airways airliner carrying 297 passengers which was flying from Lahore to Manchester.
An RAF Typhoon jet was scrambled to escort the Boeing 777 flight to Manchester over UK airspace before it was diverted to the Essex airport, where it landed at 2.15pm.
Essex Police said the men would remain in custody ahead of their court appearance.
They will remain in police custody until their court appearance.
None of the passengers were injured.
Stansted is the UK’s anti-terrorism base, where planes can be safely isolated.