Heathrow-bound PIA flight diverted to Stansted by fighter pilots over security concerns

A Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight which was flying to Heathrow airport was diverted to Stansted airport instead, when a security situation prompted the diversion.

The incident took place on Tuesday evening, as the PIA plane was intercepted by Typhoon aircrafts and forced to land at Stansted airport. According to reports, a 52-year-old man has been taken into custody by the British officials and has been shifted to a police station on charges of financial embezzlement.

Initially, there was confusion regarding why the plane had been diverted. Passengers initially panicked as they thought the plane had been hijacked, but the situation cleared up moments later. According to the British Police, the aircraft was diverted due to reports of a disruptive passenger.

“This is not believed to be a hijack situation or terror matter,” Essex Police said in a statement.

“The plane is currently at the airport and officers are making enquiries.”

Stansted airport spokesman says: “The aircraft is likely to continue its journey onwards to Heathrow today pending inquiries that the police are making into the
individual on the aircraft.”

Till the filing of this report, passengers were still stranded at the Stansted airport but arrangements were underway for their safe transfer to their requisite destination.

A PIA spokesman said that UK authorities had received some ‘vague’ security threat through an anonymous phone call regarding PIA’s Lahore-Heathrow flight PK-757 before its landing at Heathrow Airport. After receiving the call, the British officials had to direct the plane to Stansted Airport as their normal protocol dictates.

Another source claims that the pilot of the aircraft alerted British authorities when one of the passengers became abusive and disruptive during the flight. However, this account has not been verified.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=54458

Posted by fatimaarshad on Feb 8 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.