A 34-year-old man from Kuwait and a 48-year-old man from Italy were detained by counter-terrorism officers from the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit soon after 7pm on Sunday, the Unit said in a statement.
The two men had arrived on a flight from Vienna and were detained under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, police said.
30 AUG 1800z: Royal Air Force QRA Typhoons launched from Coningsby pic.twitter.com/6uREkbzCJM
— Mil Radar (@MIL_Radar) August 30, 2020
The BBC has reported the plane was intercepted by RAF Typhoon jets following unconfirmed reports of a security threat on board.
Air monitoring agency Mil Radar tweeted at around 7.30pm that two Typhoons had been launched from RAF Coningsby, with tracking showing they had circled in the Stansted area.
Confirmation
The RAF confirmed that Typhoon fighters from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire were launched “to intercept a civilian aircraft. The aircraft was escorted safely to Stansted”.
A Ryanair spokesman said the crew of the flight from Vienna to the Essex airport had been alerted to a “potential security threat on board”.
He added: “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.
“Passengers in London Stansted waiting to depart to Vienna were transferred to a spare aircraft to minimise the delay to their flight.”
Police said inquiries are ongoing.
