Boy, 14, identified by police after hoax threat made to Qatar Airways flight – prompting MoD to scramble RAF Typhoons

A 14-year-old boy is “assisting officers with their investigations” after a fake threat was made against a flight to Manchester Airport.

In response, RAF Typhoons were sent from Lincolnshire to intercept the Qatar Airways flight on Friday, the Ministry of Defense confirmed.

Nats, formerly the National Air Traffic Services, received the threat at around 6pm on Friday and responded alongside police, the RAF and airport authorities.

Manchester Police confirmed the plane landed safely and there was no threat to passengers or crew.

Police said a 14-year-old boy from Bolton who was not on the flight had been identified and was “assisting officers with their enquiries”.

Chief Inspector Gary Homa said: “This type of behavior is completely unacceptable. The safety of the public is always our top priority and any report of this nature is treated with the utmost seriousness.”

“Hoax calls can cause significant disruption, divert vital emergency service resources and cause unnecessary anxiety for passengers, crew and the wider public.

“Thankfully this incident ended safely, but making a false report is no joke and can have serious consequences. We will always investigate such incidents thoroughly and take robust action where crimes have been committed.”

On Friday the BBC reported that the Ministry of Defense had activated RAF Typhoons to intercept the plane.

The jets took off from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire after being warned about the plan to fly from Doha to Manchester Airport.

An RAF spokesman said at the time that the flight “caused concern from civil authorities”.

“The incident was resolved and the plane landed safely,” they added.

According to Manchester Airport’s arrival board, the flight landed at 19:45 BST.