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Stansted Jet: Two Men Charged Over Diversion

Stansted Jet: Two Men Charged Over Diversion

Two men have been charged with endangering an aircraft after a passenger jet from Pakistan to Manchester was diverted mid-flight.

Taxi driver Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar, 41, both from Nelson in Lancashire, will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court on Monday.

They were detained on Friday after a Pakistan International Airlines flight was diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex, where it landed at 2.15pm.

Flight PK709, which was due to land in Manchester at 1.30pm, was heading west towards the airport when it was suddenly re-routed near York.

The Boeing 777 aircraft headed back out to the North Sea before travelling south to Stansted, escorted by a Typhoon jet from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.

Passengers were ordered to leave their possessions on board before leaving the plane, which was directed to an isolated stand.

The two men were arrested after armed police boarded the plane.

Essex Police said both men will remain in custody until their court appearance.