A miscommunication between a pilot of Vueling and the control tower in Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday was the cause of a hijack alert, Dutch police and the Spanish airline said.
Vueling denied that hostages were taken aboard its plane that landed in the Dutch city.
Dutch police confirmed there was no hijacking and that there had been a case of miscommunication between the pilot and the control tower.
El Pais and El Mundo newspapers quoted a Vueling spokeswoman as saying that the plane had landed and everything was okay.
A passenger told Dutch radio NOS over the phone that she was surprised by what was going on.
Dutch media had earlier reported that the passenger plane was believed to have been hijacked en route from Malaga, Spain, and was accompanied by two F-16 fighter jets to Schiphol.
Those reports were initially confirmed by the Dutch national coordinator for counter-terrorism, who also said there was “no contact with the pilot.” Witnesses said they saw several ambulances and other emergency services vehicles at the airport.
