Virgin Australia hijack scare

A Virgin Australia passenger plane en route from Brisbane to Bali landed safely at its destination on Friday after reports of an attempted hijacking. One man was arrested following the incident.

There were no reports of injury or damages on board the plane, according to an Indonesian air force spokesperson who also said that all passengers had been safely evacuated from aircraft.

"This is no hijacking, this is a miscommunication," Virgin Australia official Heru Sudjatmiko said. "It was a false alarm."

Details later emerged that the individual had been drunk and that the incident had not, in fact, been an attempt to take over the plane.

"Too much alcohol consumption caused him to act aggressively," the same official added.

The passenger - an Australian national - triggered a false alarm that the crew and others on board were in danger when he began pounding on the cockpit door. Crew members seized the man and handcuffed him.

Normal operations were later resumed at Bali's airport which had been shut down for several hours due to the incident.

kms/mkg (AFP, Reters)