Hijacker sparks Havana airport stand-off

A man claiming to be armed with two grenades tried to hijack a passenger plane from Cuba’s Isle of Youth to the United States last night, but the plane was forced to land in Havana because of insufficient fuel.

Authorities said they were negotiating early today to end a stand-off with the man, who remained on board the plane along with 46 other people, in a remote corner of Havana airport.

A government statement released early today said the Soviet-made AN-24 was on a regular passenger flight from the Isle of Youth’s main city of Nueva Gerona when the pilot reported that the craft was being hijacked to the US by a man armed with grenades.

“The Cuban authorities, for their part, will undertake the maximum effort to find a solution that preserves the safety and lives of passengers and crew members,” said the statement.

It blamed the hijacking attempt on what Havana said was the lax treatment three other suspected hijackers received last month after successfully forcing another passenger plane from Cuba to Key West, Florida, at knifepoint.

The accused hijackers were then charged by US authorities with conspiracy to seize an aircraft by force and violence, but were later released on bond pending trial on federal charges.

“The entire responsibility of what could happen (in the latest hijack attempt) will fall on the government of that country,” the Cuban statement said of the US.