Man captured in Algerian jet hijack attempt

A man attempted to hijack an Air Algeria jet today, threatening the crew with what he said was a grenade before surrendering to security services, Algeria’s official news agency said.

After take-off from the Algerian capital Algiers, the 55-year-old demanded the plane divert to Geneva in Switzerland, the APS news agency said.

But the crew of the Boeing 737 managed to convince him the plane should land instead at the Algerian city of Oran to refuel and let the passengers disembark, the agency said.

He surrendered to security services there, it said, adding that the attempted hijacking ended “without incident”.