( dpa ) - Singapore's airspace was shut down for 50 minutes when two air force F16 jets were scrambled to interrupt a civilian plane from a Thai resort without an approved flight plan, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The air force fighter jets intercepted the single-engine turboprop Cessna 208 Tuesday night and escorted it to Changi Airport.
The plane "was heading towards Singapore airspace without an approved flight plan," The Straits Times quoted ministry spokesman Darius Lim as saying.
Police took over investigations once the Cessna 208 landed.
The plane was reportedly flying from the Thai island of Koh Samui. The shutdown of commercial airspace affected 23 aircraft, disrupting flights in and out of Changi.
The 16 incoming flights and six departing flights were delayed between 15 and 40 minutes each, a Civil Aviation Authority spokesman told the newspaper.
One inbound aircraft was diverted to Senai Airport in southern Malaysia. The plane arrived at Changi later.