Two Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets had to be scrambled on Sunday evening after a 'suspicious object' was found in the toilet on a Ryanair holiday flight.
The Typhoons escorted the Ryanair 737 jet to Lond Stansted, where the aircraft was met by local police and members of the counter-terrorist unit. The RAF fighters remained circling over the airport for some time, whilst the incident took place.
The flight had arrived from Vienna and Essex Police boarded the plane, they removed and detained a 48-year-old from Italy and a 34-year-old from Kuwait, following the discovery of the object in the toilet.
In a statement, Essex Police said: "Counter Terrorism Policing officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit have this evening (Sunday) detained two men under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act (2000). "Enquiries are ongoing."
An airport spokesperson confirmed that the Ryanair jet landed safely on the ground, was directed to a special remote area of the airport, where aircraft involved in incidents of this nature as well as possible hijackings often go, following the security incident.
Ryanair said: "The crew of a Ryanair flight from Vienna to London Stansted this evening (30 Aug) alerted of a potential security threat on board. In line with procedures, the captain informed UK authorities and continued to London Stansted, where the aircraft landed normally and taxied to a remote stand where passengers disembarked safely."
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