Jakarta: A drunk passenger was arrested after causing a mid-air emergency on a jet that took off from Brisbane, Australia, according to airline and Indonesian officials.
The Virgin Australia flight was forced to land in Bali after the 28-year-old male passenger attempted to enter the cockpit one hour into the flight.
Sky News reported that a Virgin official said one of the passengers was drunk and he did not attempt to hijack the plane as first thought.
The pilot of a Virgin Australia plane flying to Bali earlier reported a hijacking bid.
Air traffic control received a communication from the cockpit one hour into the flight, as the pilot sent out a hijack code.
"The pilot indicated that the plane has been hijacked," a senior transport ministry official said.
"This is no hijacking, this is a miscommunication," said Heru Sudjatmiko, a Virgin Australia official on the Indonesian resort island. "What happened was there was a drunk person... too much alcohol consumption caused him to act aggressively."
Indonenesian national police spokesman Suhardi Alius said the passenger had been arrested over the incident.
Virgin Australia, formerly Virgin Blue Airlines, is Australia's second-largest airline as well as the largest by fleet size to use the Virgin brand.
Palani Mohan, a passenger on a Garuda flight that was about to take off from Bali, said: "The captain of my plane made an announcement saying we were delayed indefinitely because a hijack was going on in Bali airport, about 150 metres away from us.
"I saw at least five vehicles including military-style trucks, filled with men in uniform, rushing towards the plane.
"Then the Virgin plane taxied away, followed by the convoy of security forces.
The flight attendant said it's been taken off to a different part of the airport.
"Bali airport seems to be in lockdown, we've been told no planes will be departing or arriving. The pilot's not allowing anyone off our plane."
