Five passengers claim asylum in UK after their U.S.-bound airliner made emergency landing escorted by fighter jets at Glasgow Prestwick Airport The asylum-seeking passengers are being dealt with by Border Agency staff BBC producer Nada Tawfik discovered note in toilet and alerted cabin crew The EgyptAir flight was allowed to continue its journey to New York today Five passengers from the plane which made an emergency landing in Scotland yesterday following the discovery of a threatening note are now claiming asylum in the UK. The flight from Egypt to the United States was diverted to Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire yesterday after the note, which read 'I'll set this plane on fire', was found in a toilet. The plane was searched by police officers overnight and no suspicious items were found. It was allowed to continue its journey to New York this morning. Ordeal: It took six hours to get all 326 people on board the EgyptAir flight off the plane at Prestwick Airport. It is unknown which of passengers have claimed asylum The Boeing 777 was escorted to the airport by Typhoon fighter jets A spokesman for Police Scotland said five of the plane's passengers had sought asylum in Britain. Their identities are not known and they are now being dealt with by the UK Border Agency. The EgyptAir Boeing 777 was escorted to Prestwick by Typhoons from RAF Leuchars during its flight from Cairo to JFK Airport in New York. It landed at about 2.30pm yesterday and was met by a dozen police vehicles. It took six hours before all 326 people on board were removed from the plane to be interviewed by officers. Passenger Nada Tawfik, a producer for BBC New York, said she found a note in a toilet apparently threatening to start a fire. She told the BBC News Channel: 'When I went in to change my daughter about three hours into the flight, I found a note by the sink saying "I set this plane on fire" with the seat number 46D written on it. So I immediately went to the crew and told them about it. It was on a hand napkin written in pencil and the pencil was actually still there so I told the crew to make sure to keep it so they can get any fingerprints off of it. They locked the bathroom immediately so that no-one could go into it. 'Tense': Passengers were met by police officers at Prestwick Airport after the unscheduled landing Fears: The flight was escorted by fighter jets from RAF Leuchars On board: BBC New York producer Nada Tawfik found the note in the cabin toilets scribbled on a napkin 'It almost looked like a child's handwriting or someone who has very sloppy handwriting, but it was very alarming especially these days when everyone is so concerned about safety on flights. 'I said to one of the stewardesses "I don't know if this is a prank," they said "no, it can't be a prank." 'Either someone has a very bad sense of humour or, you know, it's very scary.' The plane was searched by officers once all passengers had disembarked. Prestwick is a designated airport for emergencies and remained open while the EgyptAir plane sat on a runway. Chief executive Iain Cochrane said: 'We carefully plan and train for this kind of eventuality and I am relieved it ended safely and without incident. It was a complex and constantly evolving matter and I want to thank my staff for their unswerving professionalism and commitment during the 13 hours the aircraft was here, and praise the excellent manner in which all agencies involved worked together to resolve the matter. I must also thank the airline and their crew for their rapid deployment of resources and their contribution to resolving the issue. Our planning was robust and worked well in challenging circumstances. We have also learned some useful lessons which will serve us well for the future. 'Ongoing': Strathclyde police made all on board disembark and be interviewed yesterday before they continued their journey this morning Concern: This passenger plane travelling from Egypt to New York was diverted to Glasgow Prestwick airport and met by armed police officers