Pop sensations One Direction made a flying visit to Manchester Airport – jetting in with some of their biggest fans.
The boys flew in from London City Airport on a special British Airways flight – with the code BA1D – and eight girls from across Britain who had won the chance to meet them.
Security was so tight that airport staff and journalists were asked not to talk about the secret visit to in advance or reveal any details on Twitter – to avoid hordes of screaming teens in the terminals.
The lads – including Holmes Chapel heart-throb Harry Styles – spent half an hour on the airfield posing for pictures with the winners of BA's Flying Start competition, which raised £51,000 for Comic Relief.
In an exclusive chat with the M.E.N, Harry, 18, revealed he was glad to be back home, having spent most of the year in the United States, cracking the American market and scoring an historic number one with their debut album.
He said: “It's always nice to be back home. I think whenever I go into Manchester it makes me so close to home so it's always easier for me to go back to see my family.
“Living in London I don't get to do that so it's nice to come back to spend some time in places that I know.
“Having grown up around here I have my favourite restaurants so it's nice to go there.
“I haven't been back for a while so you do miss home. Your family and friends – just that stuff really. It's great to be back.”
It didn't take long for Harry and bandmates Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik to show their cheeky sides after landing in the city and they were captured fooling around with the pilot's hat.
Captain Carl Phelan, BA's general manager of flight operations, from Macclesfield, was given the task of getting the lads to their destination on time and didn't mind parts of his uniform going temporarily astray - because the event was for charity.
The Brit Award winners were given the VIP treatment when they were ready to leave the airport – receiving an escort through arrivals, meaning they were able to avoid the queues and getting mobbed by fans.
The X Factor stars' were heading to Liverpool to perform at a concert later today but Manchester fans won't have to wait long to see their idols as will be back in the city tomorrow for another gig.
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