Virgin Blue passenger plane hijacked and forced to land

Passenger tried to enter cockpit after plane took off from Brisbane

Not known if forced to land people on jet or if escorted in by air force

A Virgin passenger plane has been hijacked on its way to Bali from Brisbane, it was reported today.

The Virgin Blue jet was forced to land at Bali airport.

An Indonesian official said a passenger tried to enter the cockpit and the pilot described the action as a hijack.

It is not known if it was forced to land by people on the plane or whether it was escorted in by fighter jets.

Passenger who attempted to hijack Virgin Australia plane has been arrested.

Virgin Blue Airlines, also known as Virgin Australia, is the country’s second largest airline.

Started in 2000 with just two planes, within a decade it was expanded to serve 29 cities in Australia and destinations in New Zealand as well as Bali in Indonesian, Phuket in Thailand, Abu Dhabi in the UAE and Los Angeles.

Based in Brisbane, it was set up Sir Richard Branson and Brett Godfrey.

It comes after the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane which is thought to have crashed into the Indian Ocean.