Two British nationals whose actions prompted a Pakistani passenger plane to be diverted under military escort to a London airport were remanded on Monday.
Tayyab Subhani, a 30-year-old taxi driver, and Mohammed Safdar, a 41-year-old restaurant worker, are to remain
in prison until they appear at the Chelmsford Crown Court on Aug. 5 for a plea.
At Monday’s hearing, the duo spoke only to confirm their names and addresses. Their lawyers said they denied the charges of endangering an aircraft which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The duo were arrested on Friday, after they made false threats aboard the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Boeing 777.
Prosecutors alleged that the two persons said that the “crew and passengers would be killed and the aircraft blown up before landing.”
Flight 709, which had originated in Lahore and was carrying 308 passengers and 14 crew members, was bound for Manchester, but landed at Stansted airport instead after the Royal Air Force scrambled a Typhoon fighter jet to escort the plane.
