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 Saturday, 4 January, 2003, 16:39 GMT
Fans arrested over plane drama
Police lead people off the plane
The passenger plane was forced to land at Cardiff
Two teenage football fans have been arrested by officers investigating a mid-air disturbance that forced a passenger plane to ground at Cardiff International Airport last year.

A 17-year-old youth and 18-year-old man were arrested in Glasgow on Saturday after detectives from South Wales Police travelled to Scotland.

Coach with Celtic fans
Celtic fans travelled to Scotland by bus

Both were later released on police bail to appear at Barry Police Station, south Wales, in March.

Eight supporters of Celtic Football Club have now been arrested and questioned since the incident on 13 December.

Celtic fans had chartered the Boeing 737 to fly from Santiago in Spain to Glasgow following an Uefa Cup match in Vigo.

But the Astraeus Boeing 737 was urgently diverted to Cardiff International Airport after the pilot sent out a Mayday call.

Arrests

Six Celtic fans, aged between 37 and 51, were arrested in the aftermath of the incident and questioned overnight by South Wales Police.

All were released the following day on police bail and ordered to return to Barry Police Station in March.

The remaining 142 soccer fans travelling on the jet were taken back to Scotland by coach.

Some claimed the authorities had over-reacted and said that there had been no major incident during the flight.

'Serious'

But senior police officers warned at the time that the matter was being treated as "extremely serious" and said that more arrests were likely.

Following the latest arrests, a South Wales Police spokesman said: "A 17-year-old man and an 18-year-old man have been arrested at their home addresses in Glasgow.

"Following interview they have been released on police bail to appear at Barry Police Station on March 8."

See also:

14 Dec 02 | Scotland
14 Dec 02 | Wales
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