British holidaymakers on Jet2 flight caught in hijack scare
A Jet2 flight from East Midlands was surrounded by police when it landed in Majorca after officers suspected the plane had been hijacked.
Passengers were not allowed to disembark at Son Sant Joan Airport in Palma as officials believed someone had commandeered the plane during the two hour flight.
It later emerged the pilot had accidentally triggered a false alert when communicating with air traffic control.
Reports claimed that as he was having difficulty using the usual channel for communications, he used one intended for hijack situations.
That prompted Spain’s Civil Guard and National Police Corps to hold a crisis meeting to handle what they thought was a hijack.
The emergency was called off after police officers spoke to the pilot, who assured them there was no hijacker on the flight.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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