November 17, 2023, was a bit noisier than most Friday nights for British citizens living in the London area. In the late evening, the sound of fighter aircraft roaring overhead surprised those hoping to end their workweek with a peaceful night in.
There was nothing to fear in the end—the incident was a routine, if noisy, training exercise, and it's safe to say that the "mission" was completed. Reports have surfaced that a British Airways Airbus A320 was intercepted by a pair of Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons, creating a few hours of intimidating tension.
A British Airways flight takes off as "emergency." target
British Airways' A320neo, registration G-TTNB, took off from London Heathrow Airport just after 21:00 BST, flying under the special callsign "CHARIOT." Tracking the nearly 6-year-old jet, which is usually used on commercial routes, may have caused some confusion for aviation enthusiasts, given it was the subject of a dramatic interception.
Aviation Source News reports that two RAF Typhoon fighter jets started tailing the G-TTNB shortly after it took off. These typhoons are a part of the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) squad, which is made up of RAF pilots and cutting-edge military aircraft that are always prepared to help in an emergency. This squadron would be sent in to respond as soon as possible to, say, a hijacking.
Fortunately, there aren't many immediate emergencies in UK airspace, but the QRA team practises frequently to make sure mistakes aren't made in the event of an actual emergency. This was the situation with a Jet2 Airbus A321 that, following a bomb threat in October 2022, was escorted to London Stansted, an airport specifically designed to handle terror threats and hijackings.
The intriguing interception civilizations were hearing from the ground was undoubtedly a security drill. The roaring jets raced towards the simulated emergency target as the G-TTNB proceeded north towards Norfolk.
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