HOLIDAYMAKERS from the region were kept in the dark as their plane narrowly missed a military jet, an airline admitted last night.

The JMC Airlines flight, from Menorca to Teesside Airport, was involved in a near-miss with the military jet on Friday.

The planes were three-and-a-half miles apart when a woman air traffic controller ordered "immediate avoiding action".

A spokesman for Teesside Airport said last night that the airport authorities were not informed of the incident.

JMC admitted that passengers were not told of the potential danger they were in as the aircraft flew over Lydd, in Kent.

A spokeswoman said: "With regard to whether the passengers were aware, in this case, no."

The 177 passengers on the flight would only have found out about the incident yesterday morning when it appeared in media reports.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said the JMC Airbus A320 was as little as 2.8 miles from the military aircraft. A spokesman said the passenger jet's pilot could see the military aircraft descending in front of him.

But JMC Airlines' chief pilot, Captain Greg Turner, said: "At no time was the Airbus 320, its passengers or crew, in any danger."

The incident was one of two near-misses on Friday. A British Airways flight and a Swiss-bound flight were also within 15 seconds of a collision over Brighton.