RAF escorts Ryanair plane to Stansted after 'suspected hoax security alert'

The flight was from Kaunas, in Lithuania, to London Luton, and the alarm was raised by Lithuanian authorities.

@BBCEngland Not a sight you see everyday. Ryanair flight being tailed by a fighter plane. Something going on? Hope all is well over Suffolk pic.twitter.com/4yFTom2lMF
— Andy Longhurst (@AndyLonghurstUK) October 4, 2017

Andy Longhurst / Twitter

THE UK’S ROYAL Air Force (RAF) escorted a Ryanair flight to Stansted Airport this morning, over a security alert onboard.

The flight from Kaunas, in Lithuania, to London Luton was diverted “in line with procedures after Lithuanian authorities received a suspected hoax security alert”, a Ryanair spokesperson told TheJournal.ie.

They added: “The aircraft landed normally at Stansted and customers will be transferred to Luton by coach when cleared to do so.”

An RAF spokesperson confirmed that it scrambled an aircraft to intercept the Ryanair plane.

Stansted Airport said that the airport is open and operating normally after flights were held briefly while the flight was diverted at 8.55am this morning.

The plane landed safely with Essex Police in attendance, a Stansted spokesperson told TheJournal.ie.

Essex Police tweeted that it was “aware of an incident at Stansted Airport” and would provide an update as soon as possible.

We are currently on scene at #StanstedAirport after a flight from Kaunas to Luton was diverted. We'll bring you more updates when we can. pic.twitter.com/77irdE72zE
— Essex Police (@EssexPoliceUK) October 4, 2017

Essex Police / Twitter

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More