LONDON, May 26 (UPI) -- Two British nationals have been charged with endangering an aircraft after a Pakistani airliner was forced to divert to an airport in Britain, officials said.
A British air force jet was scrambled Friday after Pakistan International Airlines officials said they had been unable to contact the pilot of Flight PK709, which originated in Lahore, Pakistan.
The plane, carrying 308 passengers and 14 crew members, was less than 10 minutes from landing at its scheduled destination in Manchester, England. Instead, it was diverted to Stansted Airport outside London.
Upon landing, the pilot told passengers there had been threats.
The plane landed at Stansted Airport about 1:20 p.m., local time, the BBC reported. It remained on the tarmac until it was cleared about midnight to take the passengers to their original destination.
There were no reports of injuries.
Taxi driver Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safday, 41, both of Nelson in Lancashire, and both British nationals, will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court Monday, Essex police said, as reported by The Independent.
