Hijackers of Libyan plane surrender in Malta, all fliers safe
Hijackers armed with a grenade and pistols forced an airliner to land in Malta on Friday, then freed all their hostages unharmed and surrendered, after declaring their loyalty to Libya’s late leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Television pictures showed two men being led from the aircraft in handcuffs. The prime minister of the tiny Mediterranean island, Joseph Muscat, tweeted “hijackers surrendered, searched and taken into custody”. The Airbus A320 had been on an internal flight in Libya on Friday when it was diverted to Malta, 500 km north of the Libyan coast, after a man told the crew he had a hand grenade. A Libyan television channel reported it had spoken by phone with a hijacker who described himself as head of a pro-Gaddafi party. Gaddafi was killed in an uprising in 2011, and Libya has been racked by factional violence since.
Buses were driven onto the tarmac at Malta International Airport to carry away 109 passengers, as well as some of the crew. Television footage showed no signs of struggle or alarm.
After passengers had left the plane, a man briefly appeared at the top of the steps with a plain green flag resembling that of Gaddafi’s now-defunct state.
Libya’s Channel TV station said one hijacker, who gave his name as Moussa Shaha, had said he was the head of Al-Fateh Al-Jadid, or The New Al-Fateh. Al-Fateh is the name that Gaddafi gave to September, the month he staged a coup in 1969, and the word came to signify his coming to power. In a tweet, the TV station quoted the hijacker as saying: “We took this measure to declare and promote our new party.”