You really don’t hear about commercial hijackings much anymore.
Sure, every now and then a truck of Costco-bound lobsters goes missing (that actually happened last week), or a flight school Cessna gets “borrowed” without permission. But full-size passenger jets being hijacked? With 9/11 as the grim, tragic exception, it’s practically unheard of these days — especially outside of history books and ’70s documentaries.
Until… well… this situation.
A “Hijacking,” But Not the Kind You’d Expect
According to The Cancun Sun, a Magnicharters pilot in Mexico decided he’d had enough of waiting for his paycheck. On December 19, he allegedly locked himself in the cockpit of a Boeing 737-300 at Mexico City International Airport and told passengers he wouldn’t fly until the airline paid what he was owed.
The plane — Flight 780 to Cancun — was fully boarded and ready to go. Then the captain reportedly made an announcement saying he hadn’t been paid in five months, and even had to pay out of pocket for navigation charts. He added that he’d worked for the airline for almost three years and had never disrupted a flight before, but this time he was drawing a line.
Passengers said his tone sounded more like a protest than a threat — but the message was very clear:
“This aircraft isn’t leaving until we get paid what we’re owed.”
Then he locked himself in the cockpit.
Not violent. Not chaotic. More… “hostage situation, but make it an HR complaint.”
Authorities Got Involved… Quickly
Commercial aircraft incidents are taken seriously everywhere, and Mexico was no exception. The Mexican Navy (yes, the Navy), along with federal agents, were called in to intervene. They reportedly attempted to negotiate with the pilot, and when that failed, they forced entry into the cockpit to remove him and de-escalate the situation.
Meanwhile, the flight was cancelled, passengers were stuck, and the internet did what it does best — debated whether this was:
- a hijacking
- a workplace protest
- the world’s most intense union meeting
Possibly all three.
There are also unconfirmed reports that the pilot had been fired shortly before takeoff, though that is still being investigated.
Hijackings used to involve ransom notes, international drama, and forced flights to Cuba.
Now it’s wage disputes, locked cockpit doors, and the airline payroll department.
What a time to be alive.
Why This Matters (Especially for Bargain Vacation Packages)
Of course, at first glance it’s just a story about a hijacking.
But lots of people go to Cancún, and plenty of them book budget vacation packages to get there. Magnicharters is one of the airlines these “too good to be true” packages use to keep their prices super low. And if what the pilot said is true, and Magnicharters hasn’t paid its pilots in five months… that’s a red flag for safety and reliability.
Or, as The Cancun Sun put it:
- The Risk: If pilots are stressed, unpaid, and protesting, do you want them flying your family to the beach?
- The Lesson: If a vacation package is $500 cheaper than everyone else, check the airline. If it’s a carrier you’ve never heard of, or one with a history of labor disputes, that savings comes with a “chaos tax.”
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
