Fighter jets 'intercept packed BA flight' sparking terror fears after pilots failed to respond to air traffic controllers

Nato fighter jets intercepted a packed British Airways (BA) plane over terror fears after pilots went silent on their way back to the UK.

Pilots on the flight from Cyprus to London Heathrow failed to respond to air traffic controllers, prompting fears of a terror incident at 34,000ft.

German military Eurofighter Typhoons were deployed to follow Flight BA899 after it failed to respond to calls on either main or backup frequency for around 30 minutes.

The crew was said to be 'embarrassed' once communication had been restored.

A source told The Sun: 'You could hear the conversation between the British Airways pilots and a fighter jet pilot on the emergency frequency.

'The pilots wanted to avoid the passengers getting worried, and asked the fighter jets to stay behind the plane.

'But the order of the fighter jets was to inspect the cockpit so he had to fly parallel to the plane.'

The source said an inspection was successful and confirmed there was no terror incident.

The fighter jets remained alongside the BA flight until it reached the German border.

The pilots are still flying while BA investigates.

It said: 'All of the procedures for situations like this were followed.

'Communication with air traffic control was re-established and the flight continued safely and as planned. We're looking into the circumstances to understand what happened.'

Meanwhile, another BA flight from Cyprus was forced to divert to Gatwick after missing the late-night curfew at Heathrow.

The BA707 from Larnaca was redirected after taking off three hours late for the four-hour journey, eventually landing at 12.12am on Tuesday morning.

Heathrow enforces restrictions on movements late at night to reduce noise pollution for residents living under its flight paths. 

BA has been contacted for further comment.