Plane hijack alert turns out to be false alarm

An airline captain only had to press the wrong button to put Malta's security forces on alert fearing that a plane, travelling from Morocco to France, was "hijacked" yesterday morning.

No chances were taken, more so as it was thought that the "hijacked aircraft" could possibly fly through Malta's airspace.

Luckily it turned out to be a false alarm. Apparently the pilot of the aircraft hit the wrong button, sending out a message that an aircraft hijack was in progress. The plane landed in Marseilles without any mishap, whatsoever being reported.

It is understood that the security forces were alerted by Air Traffic Control at Malta International Airport.

Contacted, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of Malta said the army and Air Traffic Control closely monitored the situation until it was established that it was a false alarm.

Precautions adopted at Malta International Airport were routine; beefing up security as per standard procedures in force, the spokesman added. The police were also monitoring the situation.

A spokesman for St Luke's Hospital said the hospital authorities also followed events until it became known that the hijack was a false alarm.

The Civil Protection Department too followed the situation closely and put personnel on stand-by, a spokesman said.

When contacted yesterday afternoon, an official from Air Traffic Control said they were not in a position to give information to the press.