Ryanair flight turns around following ‘possible hijack’ alert by pilot

The transmitted code signals a hijacking or cockpit intrusion

The Ryanair flight which was bound for Dublin returned to Porto as the pilot transmitted a code signalling a cockpit intrusion or possible hijacking.

The squawk code 7500 which was transmitted is used to discreetly signal unlawful interference, such as a hijacking or cockpit intrusion.

A woman, 48, reportedly handed a flight attendant several “sheets of paper” shortly after flight FR7073 took off from Porto Airport.

Claims made by the woman and the cause for the plane's unexpected U-turn

As the flight took off at 10.25pm on Tuesday, she allegedly claimed three people were following her and then asked the flight attendant to pass the papers detailing her claim to the pilot.

She was then removed from the Boeing 737 after it landed back at Porto and was identified by local authorities.

As per Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manha, the woman returned to the plane “without police verifying her allegations”.

Speaking to the Mirror, a spokesperson for Ryanair said the flight returned to Porto shortly after take-off.

They said this happened “due to a false security report” and was “quickly resolved”.

The flight left again for Dublin, as it departed again shortly before 1.30am on Wednesday.

About two and a half hours later than scheduled, at around 3.15am it arrived in the Irish capital.