Hijackers of Libyan plane surrender to police in Malta

The hijacking of a Libyan plane is over after the hijackers gave themselves up, according to Malta's prime minister.

The Afriqiyah Airways plane stands on the tarmac at Malta's Luqa International airport. Picture: Jonathan Borg/AP

In a series of tweets, Joseph Muscat said the hijackers left the plane along with its final crew members after earlier freeing all the passengers from a flight that was diverted to his country.

The hijackers, he said, had “surrendered” and been searched and taken into custody.

Earlier Friday, Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, said in a tweet that there was a ‘potential hijack situation’ involving an internal Libyan flight that was diverted to Malta and that emergency operations are underway at the airport.

Airport officials said the Afriqiyah Airways A320 flight has 118 passengers on board.

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