UK: Five from diverted plane claim asylum

(MENAFN- Arab News)   Five passengers from an EgyptAir flight diverted to a Scottish airport over an apparent threat to destroy the aircraft are now seeking asylum in Britain, authorities said yesterday. New York-bound Flight 985 from Cairo was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday after a threatening note was found in the plane's lavatory. British Typhoon fighter jets escorted the plane to Glasgow's Prestwick Airport, where the flight was met by a heavy police presence, but no arrests were made and the flight was eventually cleared to carry on its journey to the US. A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said that five people out of the flight's roughly 300 passengers were now claiming asylum in Britain. Speaking from Cairo, EgyptAir CEO Tawfeek Asi identified the passengers as Syrians, although the Scottish police spokeswoman said she could not provide any information about their nationality. She spoke on condition of anonymity, saying office rules forbade her from identifying herself publicly. The BBC said one of its producers, Nada Tawfik, had discovered the note, written in pencil on a napkin, with the words "I'll set this plane on fire" and what appeared to be a seat number written on it. She said that after discovering the note by the lavatory sink, she alerted cabin crew who then locked the toilet. "It almost looked like a child's handwriting or someone who has very sloppy handwriting, but it was very alarming especially these days when everyone is so concerned about safety on flights" she told the BBC, saying she told the stewardesses she wasn't sure if the note was a prank or not.