A 14-year-old boy is “assisting officers with their inquiries” after a hoax threat was made to an aircraft heading to Manchester Airport.

RAF Typhoons were scrambled from Lincolnshire on Friday to intercept the Qatar Airways flight in response, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.

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

The aircraft landed safely and there was no threat to passengers or crew, Greater Manchester Police confirmed.

A 14-year-old boy from Bolton, who was not on the flight, has been identified and is “assisting officers with their inquiries”, police said.

Chief Inspector Gary Homa said: “This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable. 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.

“Thankfully, this incident concluded safely, but making false reports is not a prank and can have serious consequences. We will always investigate incidents of this kind thoroughly and take robust action where offences have been committed.”

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