Pia being escorted by typhoons from man to stn
 

Just breaking now

PIA stating for security reasons

7700'ed over North Sea, circled near GOLES FL160 then headed back, RAF fighter jets escorted it, just landed at STN

Essex police state an "incident has occured" on the flight.

It just landed and taxied north side to the 500 stands. Them Typhoons are noisy:ok:

Incident on the plane, and 15 levels of officials have decided the best course of action was to escort the plane from MAN to the London area?

There are incidents and incidents, of course, and the choice of STN may have a relevance dependent on the initial information and its processing. A clearer picture will no doubt emerge, as to whether that was the correct course of action based on available information.

It wouldn't normally happen, for example, if a pissed Swede was singing a little too enthusiastically.

Stansted is the airport of choice for the UK government to divert aircraft to in the case of a disturbance or hijacking on board.
"This is because its design allows a hijacked airliner to be isolated well away from any terminal buildings or runways, allowing the airport to continue to operate while negotiations are carried out, or even while an assault or rescue mission is undertaken. Staff at the airport receive special training for dealing with hijacks."

London Stansted Airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stansted is the designated airport in the UK for such incidents and has regular training exercises for those on the ground who will/might be involved in resolving the crisis. They know every hiding place etc etc to ensure that they have a successful conclusion.

Bringing the plane to STN is better than having it divert to a less well known (to those from Hereford) airport

The red icon indicates it was wearing 7700

Reuters: BRITISH SECURITY SOURCE SAYS EARLY INDICATIONS ARE THE DIVERTED PAKISTANI PLANE IS NOT THE SUBJECT OF A TERROR ATTACK

(of course, things can change: just like the "electrical problems" on 7/7 and the "small plane" on 9/11 but one should not jump to any conclusions either way.

He was already IN UK, so why drag him across the country into the London area? Why did they not do the same with the SAS flight who lost contact (a different tread in R&R)?

Unless the PIA flight is actually hijacked, that would certainly change the picture.

This covers a multitude of issues.

Wearing a 7500 would be far more significant IMO

Because this isn't a lost comms issue, I have read on other sites that comms were in use at all times, the pilots were in contact with the typhoons and were told by them to divert to Stansted.

It's there because this is something more than normal, and Stansted is equipped with the best anti-incident staff/equipment for the whole UK, including an incident apron that is isolated from other buildings and aircraft.

I've just heard that on BBC this is regarding a, "threat", by individuals onboard. I would play safe than sorry if I was the government/MoD and immediately divert it to an isolated place than a busy Manchester airport that has no preparation for this.

As others have said there are designated places for these things. You are going to either Stansted or Prestwick if somebody decides you need to be escorted anywhere.

They did, Prestwick is the other place designated for such flights.

Didn't know that, thanks!

Information received by BBC from an indviidual in Manchester caused this.

SAS flight diverted to Prestwick which has same standing as Stansted. Both are preferred airports for UK "at risk" flights. Not sure why you are trying to argue this point?

2 men arrested on suspicion of danger to an aircraft.

Essex Police - Boarded aircraft, 2 Arrests on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft