An individual attempted to hijack a Volaris domestic flight in Mexico to the United States on Sunday, but was overpowered by the crew, authorities announced. The plane, an Airbus A320, took off at 7:17 a.m. from Leon airport, in central Mexico, bound for Tijuana.
Shortly after takeoff, “an individual attacked a flight attendant and attempted to enter the cockpit to divert the plane to the United States,” the Ministry of Security said in a statement. The crew managed to subdue the attacker, and the plane made an emergency landing in Guadalajara.
Authorities said the hijacker, a 31-year-old Mexican from the state of Guanajuato, was traveling with his wife and two minor children. He was arrested by the National Guard in Guadalajara and the plane was able to return to Tijuana.
According to the daily “Reforma”, the man then threw himself at the driver of the National Guard vehicle who was taking him to the prosecutor’s office, causing a collision with a metal structure at the airport. The suspect and the officers who accompanied him suffered minor injuries.
According to the Volaris company, “the attacker explained that a member of his family had been kidnapped and that when Leon took off, he received a message threatening him with death if he went to Tijuana.”
The state of Guanajuato, where the hijacker is from, is one of the hardest hit by violence linked to organized crime, which practices kidnapping and extortion.
