Bali hijack scare puts airline procedures under scrutiny

Bali hijack scare puts airline procedures under scrutiny
By admin


Virgin Australia has stood by its handling of a situation involving a disruptive passenger aboard a flight to Bali on Friday which sparked a hijack scare.

Queensland man Matt Christopher Lockley, 28, was restrained aboard the Boeing 737-800 flight from Brisbane after he acted aggressively attempting to access the cockpit. A distress signal sent by the pilot to port authorities prompted fears of a hijacking with the aircraft boarded by Indonesian troops upon landing.

However, those concerns were quickly quashed as Virgin revealed the hijacking scare as the result of a “miscommunication”.

"There was a drunk passenger, intoxicated and aggressively behaved. He was trying to enter the cockpit, banging the door but he did not enter the cockpit," the BBC reported Virgin Australia official Heru Sudjatmiko as saying on Friday.

The airline stressed that all of the passengers aboard the flight were unharmed and defended the aircraft's captain and crew. It insisted they had acted in line with international protocols by sending an "unlawful interference code" to air traffic control.

“This is used by all airlines internationally to ensure the safety of passengers, crew and the aircraft,” a Virgin statement said.

“The captain and crew ensured the highest level of safety was maintained on flight VA41 and followed standard operating procedures. The Captain was then in regular communication with Air Traffic Control in line with correct protocols to keep them informed of the status of the disturbance prior to landing.”

Lockley, who was detained after landing, insisted that he was simply trying to find the toilet and told police that he had not consumed any alcohol. He has been released without charge.

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