British police arrest two men on diverted Pakistan flight

Britain scrambled fighter jets on Friday to intercept a commercial airliner carrying more than 300 people from Pakistan, diverting it to an isolated runway at an airport on the outskirts of London and arresting two passengers on suspicion of endangering the aircraft.

A British security official said the situation involving the Pakistan International Airlines flight did not appear terror-related, though police were still investigating, but the incident further rattled Britain just days after a soldier was killed on a London street in a suspected terror attack.

Two men were arrested on suspicion of endangering an aircraft on Friday after a British fighter jet was scrambled to divert their plane as it travelled from Pakistan to Britain, officials said. The incident further rattled the United Kingdom just days after a British soldier was brutally killed on a London street in a suspected terror attack.

A British security official said the situation involving the Pakistan International Airlines flight, which carried more than 300 people, did not appear to be terror-related, but that police were still investigating. He requested anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the investigation.

A fighter jet was launched to divert Flight P709 – which was supposed to travel from Lahore to Manchester – to Britain’s Stansted Airport, where it was kept on an isolated runway. Essex Police said two suspects, ages 30 and 41, were taken to a police station for questioning.