An airliner bringing more than 100 holidaymakers back to the UK was escorted into Stansted Airport by two fighter jets last night after an unclaimed mobile phone sparked a security alert.
The Boeing 737, which was operated by Thomson holidays, had left Faro in Portugal and was due to land in Coventry yesterday evening.
But it was diverted after a passenger found the apparently ownerless phone and reported it to cabin staff. Two Tornado F3 jets were scrambled to guide the plane in to land at the Essex airport.
All 103 passengers and five crew members were taken off the aeroplane while it was searched by army bomb disposal teams. The passengers completed their journey by coach.
