The flight from Kaunas to London Luton was diverted to London’s Stansted airport, the British airport designated to deal with major incidents, and there were reports of a sonic boom over eastern England when the fighter jets were deployed.
“The RAF can confirm Quick Reaction Alert Typhoon aircraft were launched this morning from RAF Coningsby to intercept a civilian aircraft. The aircraft was safely escorted to Stansted airport,” a spokesman for the Royal Air Force said.
He added the planes had been “authorised to transit at supersonic speed for operational reasons”.
