Heads-up if your travels tonight (or those of colleagues or loved ones) involve Amsterdam Schiphol airport.
Reports out of the Netherlands suggest an attempted hijacking took place aboard an Air Europa A330 scheduled for service from AMS to Madrid.
Multiple outlets report that passengers have crew have been deplaned and are safe.
UPDATE: BNO reports the situation was a false alarm. (Thanks for the heads-up, Frida Ghitis!)
Here’s what Air Europa said (thanks, Ben Hause!):
#AirEuropaInfo False Alarm. In the flight Amsterdam – Madrid, this afternoon was activated, by mistake, a warning that triggers protocols on hijackings at the airport. Nothing has happened, all passengers are safe and sound waiting to fly soon. We deeply apologize.
— Air Europa (@AirEuropa) November 6, 2019
Dutch broadcaster NOS (via BNO) reports “the pilot of a departing flight activated a hijacking alert during the boarding process. A large number of emergency services were called to the scene, including heavily-armed police, ambulances, and a medical helicopter.” The incident reportedly began around 7:30 PM local time.
HIJACKING ALERT
– Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
– Departing Air Europe flight
– Captain activated hijacking alert
– Plane is at the gate
– At least 27 people on board
– Heavily armed police on scene
– Major incident declared— BNO News (@BNONews) November 6, 2019
A report I saw on television said between one and three men with knives purportedly tried taking over the flight, which never left the ground.
Dutch police say passengers and crew are now safely off plane at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and investigation of the security incident continues.
— NBC News World (@NBCNewsWorld) November 6, 2019
If you have flights in or out of AMS, check with your airline to see if your flights are delayed or otherwise affected while the situation calms down.
Cover photo: ©iStock.com/MattGush
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