VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canadian fighter jets escorted a Cathay Pacific airliner coming from Hong Kong to a safe landing Saturday at Vancouver International Airport following a bomb threat, officials said.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police said passengers had been safely taken off the plane and that nothing of concern was found in the baggage.
“This incident is being taken very seriously,” Cpl. Sherr dean Turley said, adding the threat regarding Flight CX838 was called in to police about 10:45 a.m. local time.
Canadian F-18 Hornet fighter jets intercepted the Airbus 8340 with 283 passengers and 14 crew members aboard and flew alongside it until it landed about 1:40 p.m. local time.
Passengers told CTV News they were not informed of any problems during the flight.
One passenger told CTV News that the fighters appeared about 80 miles from Vancouver. “I was scared,” he said. “He was near to our plane, very near to our plane.”
