A fighter jet has escorted a passenger plane into Manchester Airport.

The plane is reported to be Qatar Airways flight QR023 from Doha.

It appears the jet circled twice around the south of the Peak District before it approached Manchester.

The man arrested had allegedly passed a letter to a member of the cabin crew claiming there was a bomb on board.

Armed officers escorted him off the place as soon as it landed at Manchester.

He is now being held in custody on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat.

An RAF spokesman said: “We can confirm that Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in their quick reaction alert role this afternoon to investigate a civilian aircraft whose pilot had requested assistance.

“The aircraft was escorted to Manchester where it landed safely. This incident is now being handled by the civilian authorities.”

Qatar Airways have just issued the following statement:

“Qatar Airways can confirm that flight QR23 from Doha to Manchester, an Airbus A330-300, landed safely at Manchester Airport ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 13:15.

“There were 269 passengers and 13 Qatar Airways crew on board. 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.

“The crew is now fully assisting police at the airport with their inquiries.  The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew is our top priority. As this is a matter of a police investigation, we cannot comment further at this time. “

Stories courtesy of Manchester Evening news