Being objective about it, sure expensive fighter escort but it may have marginally delayed or disrupted plans for an in-flight detonation which could as already stated have been over densley populated land.

What could the two fighter pilots do if a determined terrorist actually detonated irrespective of the fighters alongside?

One of the few possibilities is that the pilots could pin point exactly where the airliner went down should the bomb/s have been detonated in flight.

It could have been over any part of the earth, land (densely or sparsely populated) or ocean. Given that the terrorist unless in the cockpit – (unlikely nowadays) would not be sure of the exact nature of the terrain below the airliner.

Anyway happy result. Democracy is getting more expensive by the day but would anyone want the alternatives?