Passenger allegedly causes mid-air bomb scare on Qatar Airways flight

The first moment passengers knew something wasn't right was when they saw two RAF typhoon fighter jets outside their window.

One man filmed the military jets which were scrambled to escort the Qatar Airways plane into Manchester airport.

The flight from Doha had begun its descent when a passenger allegedly passed a note to a crew member which claimed there was a possible device on board.

When QR23 landed safely it taxied to an isolated part of the airport where it was searched by armed police who boarded the plane and arrested a 47-year-old Englishman.

Shocked and confused passengers could only watch on.

“I think a lot of people were just sort of a bit scared.. a bit sort of on edge,” passenger Matthew Cox said.

Nearly an hour later police confirmed that it was just a hoax.

By that time all 269 passengers and 13 crew members were off the aircraft.

Not only was Manchester’s airport under temporary lock down, but all airports in the region including London’s Heathrow Airport were on high alert.

Some flights had to be diverted while other flights faced longer holding patterns.

This was another scare in the skies and for thirty minutes a full scale emergency was underway at Britain's third largest airport.

Qatar Airways praised the calm response of its pilots and crew members and once the threat eased airport traffic was back to normal.