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Drunk passenger causes hijack fear on Bali flight



The actions of one drunken passenger was the cause of hijack fears around a Virgin Australia flight from Brisbane to Bali.

Flight VA41, a Boeing 737 which left Australia at about 11am (Australian time), was disrupted when the he tried to force his way into the plane's cockpit at about 1:05pm (Bali time).

The pilot was forced to send a hijacking signal while the flight crew handled the passenger, who was later identified by Bali police chief Beni Mokalu as 28-year-old Australian citizen Matt Christopher.

It landed at 2:43pm (Bali time) and is now parked at the south apron of Denpasar's Ngurah Rai airport. Bali police have apprehended the Christopher.

There are reportedly 139 people on board, but there are no details as to whether this includes air crew. Nobody has been hurt in the incident.

In a statement on their Facebook page, Virgin Australia said the hijack reports were 'incorrect'.

"There are incorrect reports that a Virgin Australia aircraft was hijacked on route to Denpasar. This is not correct. The aircraft in question has landed safely and at no point was the safety of our passengers ever in question," the airline said.

Indonesian media report that the airport is still open.