Belgian jets intercept Chinese cargo plane over NL after bomb threat
Two Belgian fighter jets escorted a Chinese cargo plan through Dutch airspace on Tuesday evening after receiving a bomb warning which turned out to be false.
The plane was guided to its final destination in Liege, Belgium, after the Belgian air force was alerted by Dutch authorities.
The Air China Cargo plane touched down at around 8pm. An airport spokesman told press agency Belga that the Air China Cargo plane itself had reported the bomb warning after threats were made against the airline on social media.
2/2 – De Federale autoriteiten doen daar nader onderzoek naar het toestel.
De F-16’s hebben boven Nederland supersoon, sneller dan het geluid, gevlogen. Dit kan hoorbaar zijn geweest op de grond als een doffe knal. pic.twitter.com/iGaNIgcdPK— Belgian Air Force🇧🇪 (@BeAirForce) May 17, 2022
The Netherlands and Belgium alternate surveillance of their joint airspace and two fighter jets are always on standby.
The Belgian air force said the planes flew at supersonic speed over the Netherlands and people on the ground may have heard the sonic boom as they broke the sound barrier.
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