A man has been arrested on suspicion of making a hoax bomb threat after military jets were called to escort a passenger plane to Manchester Airport.

The Qatar Airways plane was escorted in to land by the Royal Air Force (RAF) following information received by the pilot.

Greater Manchester Police said it was treating it as a “full emergency”.

Armed police boarded the Doha to Manchester plane and arrested a passenger on board.

All flights in and out of the airport were suspended for about 25 minutes.

‘Pretty shook up’

The plane involved was an Airbus A330-30, which had 269 passengers and 13 Qatar Airways crew on board.

The RAF confirmed Typhoon aircraft were launched from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire as part of its “quick reaction alert role” when a pilot requested assistance.

Operations at the airport resumed at about 14:00 BST after the plane landed at a terminal.

Passengers have been disembarking from the plane “as normal”, an airport spokesman said.

Josh Hartley, who boarded the plane at Doha in Qatar, said: “Well when the escort came it was very scary – I’m pretty shook up now.”

Passenger Matthew Cox told the BBC: “Armed police came on and found a guy, searched him and made him stand up with his hands on his head and took him off the plane.

“He seemed no different to others on the plane, nothing unusual.”

A statement for Qatar Airways confirmed flight QR23 landed safely at Manchester Airport ahead of its scheduled arrival time of 13:15 BST.

It said: “The crew onboard had received a threat about a possible device on board and Qatar Airways immediately took all the necessary precautions to alert British authorities.

“The crew is now fully assisting police at the airport with their inquiries.”

Manchester Airport said nine incoming flights were diverted to other airports, with five landing at Leeds Bradford International Airport.

A plane carrying the Manchester United team back from Florida, where they played in a pre-season friendly tournament, landed on time.

“There are a few minor delays to outgoing flights,” a Manchester Airport spokesman added.

Eye witness Chris Phelan, 42, from Heaton Moor, was in his garden when he heard the roar of a jet plane before filming it on his camera.

“I looked up and saw what looked like a Typhoon jet flying close to a passenger plane.

“I live on the flight path so I’m used to seeing planes coming into land but it’s the first time this has ever happened in the four to five years I’ve been here.”