Three Britons recruited as suicide bombers in an al Qaeda-inspired plot to blow up airliners as they were flying across the Atlantic were sentenced Monday to at least 20 years in prison.

Ibrahim Savant, 29, Arafat Waheed Khan, 29, and Waheed Zaman, 26, were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 20 years for the plot, which would have used liquid explosives, Woolwich Crown Court said.

They and other conspirators planned to detonate liquid explosives stowed aboard the planes in soft drink bottles, prosecutors have said.

The foiled plot created global chaos as airports were closed and passengers stranded.