Malta plane hijacking ends peacefully; 2 Libyans surrender

VALLETTA, MALTA >> Two Libyan hijackers diverted a domestic flight to the Mediterranean island of Malta on Friday to demand asylum in Europe and create a new political party in honor of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, officials said. After hours of negotiations, the standoff ended peacefully with the hijackers freeing all 117 people on board and walking off the plane to surrender.

The hijacked Airbus A320 flight, operated by Afriqiyah Airways, was traveling from the Libyan oasis city of Sabha to the coastal city of Tripoli when it was diverted to Malta and landed at 11:34 a.m. local time.

Malta state television TVM said the two hijackers had hand grenades and had threatened to explode them. All flights to Malta International Airport were immediately diverted and emergency teams including negotiators were sent to the airport tarmac.

Afriqiyah Airways said when the plane reached a cruising altitude of 36,000 feet (10,980 meters), pilot Ali Milad was told the hijackers were armed and wanted to land in Rome. Milad suggested landing in Tripoli, the hijackers refused, and a decision was made to land in Malta due to fuel limitations.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told reporters the hijackers wanted negotiators to board the plane after it landed but his government refused and insisted that all passengers and crew be released.

The hijackers then allowed the plane’s doors to open at 1:44 p.m. and a staircase was brought over so freed passengers could disembark in groups.

In a series of tweets, Muscat said 65 people were allowed to leave, then another 44 were freed, including some crew, all coming out without hand luggage. Finally the two hijackers walked off the plane with the final crew members, including the pilot and co-pilot.

Muscat announced that the hijacking was over in a tweet at 3:44 p.m., saying the two hijackers surrendered unconditionally. They were searched, taken into custody and being questioned, he said.

The airline said 117 people, including six crew members, had been on board the hijacked plane. Twenty-five of the passengers were artists, writers and intellectuals from southern Libya heading to a cultural forum in Tripoli.

Muscat said the two hijackers had one hand grenade and one pistol on them and a second pistol was found on the plane when it was searched by Maltese soldiers.

In a later statement, the government said initial forensic investigations showed that the weapons used by the hijackers were identical “replica” weapons — imitation weapons that may not actually fire but are difficult to distinguish visually from real guns.

Police said it was most likely the two hijackers would be arraigned Saturday.

Late Friday, security experts were still checking to make sure the aircraft was free of explosives or other arms and Maltese authorities were still questioning the passengers and doing security checks on them to make sure another hijacker was not among them.