The emergency came when the pilot of Qatar Airways flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester reported concerns about a possible device. It landed safely. Josh Hartley, who boarded the plane at Doha, said: "The flight was pretty calm all the way through, but some people are shaken up, quite a few. It was scary. A man is escorted off a Qatar Airways aircraft by police at Manchester airport in Manchester, northern England A man is escorted of the Qatar Airways flight by police in Manchester. The alarm is thought to have been raised when a passenger passed a note to a member of the cabin crew. The message is understood to have been passed on to the captain, who alerted air traffic control - prompting the quick reaction alert Typhoon to be scrambled. In a statement Qatar Airways said the plane was an Airbus A330-300 with 269 passengers and 13 Qatar Airways crew on board. The airline said: "The crew onboard had received a threat about a possible device on board and Qatar Airways immediately took all the necessary precautions to alert British authorities. Greater Manchester Police tweeted that officers were working to get other passengers off "as swiftly and safely as possible".
Chief Superintendent John O'Hare said in a statement as events unfolded: "An incoming plane has been escorted into the airport by the Royal Air Force as a result of information received by the pilot about a possible device on board. " We don't know how genuine this threat is but it is absolutely vital we deal with the situation as a full emergency. As a result people will see the police and other agencies at the airport and on the airfield.
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