Hijack of Qatar Airways flight to Doha foiled

DUBAI: An attempt was made to hijack a Qatar Airways flight on Thursday, Al Jazeera television reported.   

The news channel said the flight was heading to the Qatari capital Doha from Jordan's capital, Amman.

A 21-year-old man was overpowered by the crew and passengers while trying to enter the cockpit of the plane carrying a box containing an unspecified substance.   

It was not immediately known what liquid was in the cannister, security officials at Amman airport said.

The man was detained once the plane landed in the Jordanian capital, and security officials were investigating whether the man had any associates with him on the flight, the officials said.

"The plane is about to take off for Doha with the remaining passengers," an airlines spokeswoman said, adding that all the passengers were unharmed.   

The incident came hours after Great Britain announced it had foiled a major terror plot to blow up airplanes headed to the United States from London's Heathrow Airport.