Chinese cargo plane intercepted in bomb scare
Belgian F-16 fighter jets broke the sound barrier to intercept a civil aircraft in Dutch skies last night. Christian Delcourt of Liege Airport says the jets intervened following a bomb alert that proved to be a hoax.
Dutch flight control requested the assistance of the Belgian air force jets in order to intercept a cargo plane and accompany it to Liege Airport, its intended destination, the Belgian defence ministry says.
Claims had been made on social media about bomb threats to Chinese aircraft. The Boeing 777 operated by Air China Cargo landed at Liege around 8PM without incident. Several hangars had been evacuated as a precaution.
Delcourt says the airline itself had raised concerns following rumours about a threat to Chinese aircraft on social media.
Belgian federal authorities subjected the aircraft to a thorough examination on landing.