Libya passenger jet hijacked, diverted to Malta

Malta prime minister tweets of ‘potential hijack situation’ involving an internal Libyan flight diverted to Malta.

The Airbus A320 was flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to capital Tripoli [Reuters]

by Al Jazeera

A Libyan aircraft with 118 people on board has landed in Malta after being hijacked, officials in Malta and Libya confirmed.

The Airbus A320 was flying from Sebha in southwest Libya to Tripoli for state-owned airline Afriqiyah Airways, Libyan media reports said.

The tiny Mediterranean island of Malta is about 500km north of the Libyan coast.

The island’s prime minister said in a tweet on Friday that had been alerted to the “potential hijack” of the plane.

Informed of potential hijack situation of a #Libya internal flight diverted to #Malta. Security and emergency operations standing by -JM

— Joseph Muscat (@JosephMuscat_JM) December 23, 2016

Officials at Malta’s airport told Associated Press news agency that there appeared to be two hijackers on board.

The Times of Malta newspaper reported, however, that there was one hijacker who was armed with a hand grenade.

The plane was parked on the tarmac at Malta airport and was surrounded by several army vehicles and dozens of security personnel.