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Reports say an Alliance Air Boeing 737 has been hijacked on its way from Bombay to New Delhi.
The Minister for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain confirmed the plane is a state-run Alliance Air 737.
Air traffic control in New Delhi say the flight number CD7444 landed safely and all passengers are safe. Local media says two hijackers telephoned Indian authorities and have requested for two engineers board the plane.
There are reports the plane has been surrounded by armed commandos and that officials are in contact with the hijackers.
The Indian High Commission in London says there were between 52 and 54 passengers and crew on board the jet.
Spokesman Navdeep Suri said the hijackers' demands were unclear at this stage.
"We can confirm that the hijacked jet has landed at Delhi and has now been taken to a separate bay," he said. "The pilot has asked for a couple of engineers to come on board but that is all we know."
"The hijackers have not made any demands yet. We do not know what they want at this stage. The security forces are obviously meeting to decide on the best course of action. We are just watching the situation."
Mr Suri said it was not known if the hijack was connected with the terrorist attacks on the US but he stressed there has been a number of incidents in India in the past. He says it was not clear if there were any British or other foreign nationals among the passengers on the jet.
It's currently parked on an isolated bay on runway 27 at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Alliance Air is a subsidiary of the Indian Airlines.
Story filed: 21:02 Wednesday 3rd October 2001
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