Australian plane forced to land in Bali not hijacked: carrier

SYDNEY, April 25 (Xinhua) -- A drunk passenger tried to enter the cockpit of a flight from Brisbane to Denpasar, Indonesia, and the situation is not "hijacking," Virgin Australia confirmed on its official Twitter and Facebook pages on Friday.

Indonesia's local media reported Friday afternoon that a flight of Virgin Australia was "hijacked" and forced to land in Bali.

"There are incorrect reports that a Virgin Australia aircraft was hijacked en route to Denpasar. The aircraft in question has landed safely," Virgin Australia said on its official Twitter account.

"At no point was the safety of our passengers ever in question, " the company added on its Facebook page.

According to local media, Virgin Australia's representative at Bali's international airport, Heru Sudjatmiko, said a drunk and unruly passenger became aggressive and was handcuffed by cabin crew.

"The message relayed to air traffic control about an attempt to breach the cockpit reportedly triggered the airport's 'worst case scenario' response, leading to the misreporting of a hijacking," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said.

Earlier, an Indonesian spokesman also confirmed that all passengers on board the plane were unharmed and being evacuated from the plane.

J.A. Barata, a spokesman of Indonesian Transport Ministry, told Xinhua over phone that a man trying to enter the cockpit was drunk and did not have any weapon.

"A man trying to enter the cockpit an hour before the plane landed was drunk," he said.

But the incident triggered a hijack alert, he added.

The plane of Virgin Blue Airlines was reported to be hijacked at 13:04 Jakarta Time on its way to Denpasar from Brisbane and landed in Bali at 14:10.

Metro TV reported that the Indonesian police had already arrested the passenger and would investigate his motivation.

Indonesian air force is currently in a standby position at the Bali Airport.

Virgin Australia Airlines is Australia's second-largest airliner company after Qantas.

The company has been expanded to operate in 29 cities in Australia and destinations in New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

source: news.xinhuanet.com