Safety

A hijacking of an Air Mauritanie Boeing 737 yesterday reportedly ended with the arrest of one man at a military airfield in Spain’s Canary Islands.

Several local reports say the Mauritanian flag carrier's aircraft was hijacked soon after a late afternoon takeoff from the country's capital, Nouakchott.

The incident ended in Las Palmas, where the man is reportedly being held by police. There were eight crew and 70 passengers onboard, according to several news sources.

"Fortunately the hijacking incident has ended favourably," José Segura, a government representative in the Canary Islands, told Radio Nacional de España (RNE).

The hijacked Air Mauritania 737 landed on after making a fuel stop in the disputed Moroccan territory of Western Sahara 
(formerly Spanish Sahara), officials in Mauritania said. The aircraft was on an internal flight from Nouakchott to the northern port of Nouadhibou. The hijacker requested the aircraft continue on to Paris after its stop in the Sahrawi city of Laayoune / El Aaiun, police told RNE.

According to Flight’s database ACAS, the airline currently operates two 737-700s leased from International Lease Finance (ILFC).