British fighter jets escort diverted Pakistani plane

LONDON — British fighter jets were scrambled to escort a Pakistan International Airlines plane to a London airport on Friday after an incident onboard, officials said.

Police said the plane, which was en route from the Pakistani city of Lahore to Manchester in northwest England, landed safely at Stansted airport outside London after being diverted.

“The plane diverted to Stansted Airport has now landed at the airport,” police in Essex, where the airport is located, said in a Twitter message.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said that Typhoon planes had been launched from a Royal Air Force base after the incident, shortly before the plane was due to land in Manchester at 1300 GMT.

“Typhoon aircraft from RAF Coningsby have been launched to investigate an incident involving an aircraft in UK airspace,” the MoD spokesman said.