A passenger aircraft has landed under military escort at Glasgow Prestwick Airport.
The RAF said Typhoon jets were scrambled yesterday from RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth to identify an “unresponsive civilian aircraft”.
Once communication was re-established, the plane was escorted to Prestwick.
The Mexican aircraft was travelling from Toulouse in France to Iceland when it was intercepted.
An RAF spokesman said:
“Quick reaction alert Typhoon aircraft were launched today from RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth to identify an unresponsive civilian aircraft.
The Typhoon aircraft were authorised to transit at supersonic speed for operational reasons; any inconvenience caused to local residents is regretted.
Communications were re-established and the aircraft has been safely escorted by the Lossiemouth aircraft to Prestwick airport.”
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is an international airport serving the Greater Glasgow urban area, situated 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi) northeast of the town of Prestwick in South Ayrshire and 32 miles from the city centre of Glasgow.
It is the second busiest of the two airports serving Glasgow, with the busiest being Glasgow Airport which is situated within the Greater Glasgow conurbation itself.
The airport is reportedly set to become the European hub for commercial space flights and is Scotland’s main candidate for development into the first UK Spaceport.
Scotland’s main candidate to become the UK’s first spaceport? what absolute nonsense. the only people that want Prestwick to be that are the SNP because public money was used to buy it.
Across the water in Kintyre is the far better option of ex RAF/NATO base “Machrihanish” which actually meets the criteria.
While Machrihanish does have a very suitable runway and surround airspace profile, it doesn’t have the transport links Prestwick has. Nor does it have a nearby workforce. Prestwick also has other large aerospace industry working there. Nothing whatsoever to do with the SNP, bar the fact they recognise the potential and are quite rightly supportive.
I hope that they submit a bill for the fuel used to the airline – the UK taxpayer shouldn’t have the foot the bill.