A plane carrying officials preparing a Saudi prince’s visit to Brisbane has been allowed to leave Indonesia after being intercepted for airspace violations.



Two fighter planes forced the Gulfstream jet carrying seven passengers and six crew to land in Kupang, West Timor, on Monday afternoon.

The Sukhoi jets were from the same Makassar base that intercepted an Australian light plane two weeks ago for crossing Indonesian airspace without correct documentation on its way to the Philippines.

Indonesian Air Force spokesman Hadi Tjahjanto said the crew and passengers were allowed to continue their journey to Brisbane on Monday night after their documentation was sorted out.



The passengers were the advance party of a Saudi royal who was set to visit Brisbane via Darwin and Singapore, air force commander Andi Wijaya told kompas.com.



They were required to pay the usual Rp 60 million ($5670) fine for their error, El Tari airport air force spokesman Captain Sigit told the Indonesian news website.



“The plane was released after the Saudi Arabian embassy in Jakarta completed the flight clearance in Indonesian jurisdiction and a Rp 60 million fine was paid to the state treasury,” he said.



The two Australian pilots were forced to spend three nights in Manado over a paperwork blunder, which saw them also fined Rp 60 million.



Because they had avoided landing for several hours, fighter jet weapons were “locked on” the plane and awaiting orders to fire.



Last week, an Australian-registered plane owned by Singapore Technologies (ST) Aerospace and being used for pilot training was intercepted and forced to land in Kalimantan.



It was fined the same amount, according to reports.



But Brigadier General Tjahjanto says the incidents are not part of any new push to be stricter on airspace.



“It just so happens that there have already been four this year,” he said.



Planes entering Indonesian airspace require flight clearance from the transportation ministry, diplomatic clearance from the foreign ministry and security clearance from the air force, he said.