PhotoLONDON — The Royal Air Force escorted a Ryanair plane to Stansted Airport, north of London, on Wednesday after the flight from Lithuania was diverted because of a security threat that the airline later said was most likely a hoax. The flight, which originated in Kaunas, Lithuania, landed safely around 8:55 a.m., the police said, and passengers were escorted off the aircraft. Ryanair said a “suspected hoax security alert” had been flagged by the Lithuanian authorities. Loud noises were reported in the Suffolk area of England, but the police said the sounds had come from a military plane. Stansted Airport, which mostly serves low-cost carriers, has been the designated facility since the 1970s for receiving flights after security alerts, according to a police press officer.

Source: New York Times October 04, 2017 09:32 UTC