Two RAF Typhoon jets screamed into the sky from Lincolnshire on Friday evening, scrambled to intercept a passenger plane heading for Manchester Airport. The target: a Qatar Airways flight from Doha. The cause: a hoax threat phoned in to National Air Traffic Services (NATS) at around 6pm.
Within minutes, police, the RAF and airport authorities were locked into a full-scale response. The aircraft landed safely. There was no danger to passengers or crew, Greater Manchester Police confirmed. But the military mobilisation was real — and so were the consequences for the teenager who triggered it.
“RAF Typhoons scrambled after 14-year-old boy made hoax threat to Qatar Airways flight heading to Manchester Airport.”
A 14-year-old boy from Bolton has been identified and is “assisting officers with their inquiries”, the force said. He was not on the flight.
Chief Inspector Gary Homa did not mince words. “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable,” he said. “The safety of the public is always our top priority and every report of this nature is treated extremely seriously. Hoax calls can cause significant disruption, divert vital emergency service resources and create unnecessary concern for passengers, crew and the wider public.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed the Typhoons were scrambled from Lincolnshire, a standard procedure for such alerts. The jets would have intercepted the airliner, likely flying alongside it until the threat was assessed.
“Thankfully, this incident concluded safely, but making false reports is not a prank and can have serious consequences,” Homa added. “We will always investigate incidents of this kind thoroughly and take robust action where offences have been committed.”
For the boy from Bolton, the investigation is just beginning. The question now is whether the call that sent fighter jets into the night sky will be treated as a childish mistake — or a crime with lasting repercussions.