Plane lands at Prestwick Airport after ‘incident’
Police and other emergency services attended at the airport in Ayrshire, in the west of Scotland, for what was described as a major incident.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said an Italian civilian aircraft was escorted to Prestwick by jets from Lossiemouth after it lost communications.
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Hide AdShe said the aircraft landed safely last night and the incident was over.
Police Scotland tweeted: “Police and emergency services present at Prestwick Airport after plane landed safely under escort as safety precaution.”
Photographs from the scene appeared to show a number of emergency service vehicles, which had been summoned to the airport as a precaution.
The plane at the centre of the drama was an Italian C-27J, which experienced technical difficulties with its communications equipment.
Some flights in other Scottish airports were reported to have been delayed, but have since taken off.
An MoD spokeswoman said: “Typhoon aircraft were launched this evening from RAF Lossiemouth to intercept a civilian aircraft which was causing concern to air traffic control authorities. The aircraft was safely escorted to Prestwick airport and the local police now have the lead.”
The incident happened on a busy day for the UK’s airports as the Easter getaway began.
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is wholly owned by the Scottish Government. It is around 45 minutes by rail from Glasgow city centre.
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