Passengers have been allowed to leave a plane that was hijacked on an internal flight in Libya and forced to land in Malta with 118 people on board.
Two hijackers on board the state-owned Afriqiyah Airways plane have hand grenades and have threatened to blow up the aircraft, according to Malta state television. Their demands are not clear.
Around two-and-a-half hours after hijacked Flight 8U209 landed at Valletta, passengers began leaving the Airbus A320.
The Maltese Prime Minister said at 1.30pm GMT that 109 of the 111 passengers had been allowed to leave the aircraft. There are also seven crew members on board.
Maltese government sources said that at least one hijacker on board had told crew that he had a grenade. He said he was "pro-Gaddafi" and would release all passengers - but not the crew - if his as-yet-undisclosed demands were accepted, local media reported.
A source from Libya's unity government confirmed hijackers diverted the plane belonging to the national carrier and that it had received permission to land in Malta.
The pilot had tried to land in Libya, but the hijackers refused his request, he told Triploi airport control before communications were lost, according to a security official.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/23/flight-diverted-malta-amid-potential-hijack-situation/
Two hijackers on board the state-owned Afriqiyah Airways plane have hand grenades and have threatened to blow up the aircraft, according to Malta state television. Their demands are not clear.
Around two-and-a-half hours after hijacked Flight 8U209 landed at Valletta, passengers began leaving the Airbus A320.
The Maltese Prime Minister said at 1.30pm GMT that 109 of the 111 passengers had been allowed to leave the aircraft. There are also seven crew members on board.
Maltese government sources said that at least one hijacker on board had told crew that he had a grenade. He said he was "pro-Gaddafi" and would release all passengers - but not the crew - if his as-yet-undisclosed demands were accepted, local media reported.
A source from Libya's unity government confirmed hijackers diverted the plane belonging to the national carrier and that it had received permission to land in Malta.
The pilot had tried to land in Libya, but the hijackers refused his request, he told Triploi airport control before communications were lost, according to a security official.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/23/flight-diverted-malta-amid-potential-hijack-situation/