Hijack ending explained: Does Flight KA29 land safely in London?

Episode 6, Comply Slowly, delivered yet another plot twist as a surprise character Amanda (Holly Aird) was revealed to be part of the hijack all along, but did Sam Nelson (Idris Elba) manage to talk her down and get everyone to safety?

The all-important subplot of Cheapside Firm bosses Edgar (Simon McBurney) and John (Ian Burfield), aka the masterminds behind the hijack, also unfolded with shock consequences as they navigated their newfound freedom outside of prison.

Whether you're still reeling from the finale or are just keen to read a full breakdown of the chaotic events that ensued, read on for a recap of the Hijack finale.

Hijack ending explained

With less than an hour left on the flight, all eyes were on the hijackers and Sam for how the hijacking would end. But the finale opened with a (literal) bang as it was revealed that Amanda had shot and killed Captain Robin (Ben Miles), meaning that the flight no longer had a captain. Talk about stressful.

Sam and the crew figure out that Amanda, who surprised them all and was also an unknown part of the hijack plot, is a mother - so Sam tries to appeal to her nature. He also manages to tie up Stuart (Neil Maskell), meaning that Sam can take charge of the landing.

Meanwhile, the teams on the ground are struggling to figure out what the best outcome for Flight KA29 would be now that OCG leaders Edgar and John have been released from prison. The counterterrorism team and foreign minister (Hattie Morahan) discuss deploying two typhoons to take down the plane before it reaches London.

British air traffic control operator Alice (Eve Myles) is growing increasingly concerned at the plane's dangerously low fuel levels and through her peer's efforts of trying to contact passenger's phones, Sam answers one of the teenage girl's phones and he finally can talk to Alice on the phone. Alice's sole intention is to help Sam and the passengers land the plane safely but with Amanda's unguessable actions, nobody knows what her plan is or why she's been employed.

Out in the English countryside, John is growing more anxious as he knows the police will be able to find them hiding out soon and is keen to shut down the stocks sooner rather than later. The plan all along has been to plummet Kingdom Airlines' stock price in order to bet against the airline's declining stock price but Edgar is keen to wait it out till the plane crashes.

One of the unexpected twists of the finale comes when John tells Edgar they should leave, but Edgar tells them to stay put, leading John to order the other mystery OCG member they're with that they're "doing this early". It seemed to be a pre-arranged order that leads him to go behind Edgar and shoot him dead. As he and John drive away, we see Edgar's phone flash up with text messages from Amanda asking him why he's not answering her.

Back on the plane, there's a major conflict of opinion as passengers grow more angry and desperate to either confront Amanda or take matters into their own hands. Sam manages to use a phone to call Amanda in the cockpit and she eventually lets Sam in, who also has Alison on the phone, who guides them in landing the plane.

Why was Amanda involved in the hijack?

We also find out that Alec (Justin Salinger) is involved in the operation as the OCG have his family, and he explains to Sam that the criminal group would have done the same with Amanda, taking her family hostage so that she does exactly what they say.

He explains that the group wanted the guns brought on board and he agreed to do it because they threatened to shoot his partner. Alec explains that he's a trader, the one that did the insider trading deal with Devlin to ensure the Kingdom Airlines stock plummets. He says that the hijack was originally supposed to end when the plane gets over London, but doesn't understand why nothing's happened.

But of course, it's because Edgar has now been killed and is obviously unable to reply to Amanda's stressed messages asking what to do. Amanda tells Sam and the passengers that she's supposed to wait for a message to land, which signals that the money has been obtained from the deal. But if she doesn't get the text message, she was told to crash the plane in the centre of London.

Amanda's family has been threatened and so she's at odds with what to do – although she doesn't want to harm anyone else, she's conflicted about whether to crash the plane or not to save her family.

Was Sam's son Kai killed?

In the background of the finale is the fact that Kai, who went to his father's apartment to surprise him after his flight, has now been found by the two Cheapside Firm 'cleaners' in Sam's place.

Concerned about her son's whereabouts, Marsha (Christine Adams) calls Daniel (Max Beesley) and remembers the strange call she received asking for her to confirm Sam's address. Daniel soon leaves his post out in the countryside where they were tailing Edgar and John to drive back to London to find Kai.

Daniel calls Kai's phone and the men allow him to take the call, with Kai managing to tell Daniel an obscure message about riding the bike he was on this morning to come back home. Of course, he's referring to the exercise bike in his mother's house, signalling to Daniel that all is not well.

Daniel soon arrives at Sam's apartment block and manages to get the fire alarm set off, meaning there has to be an entire building evacuation. Once they eventually come out, armed police surround them and arrest them, with Kai and Daniel reuniting safely.

Does Flight KA29 land safely in London?

Amanda, who we learn is an accomplished pilot, is still emotional and unable to help because she's scared of the OCG killing her family back in the UK or now facing a future in prison. Alison manages to patch through the Home Secretary Neil Walsh (Neil Stuke) to the call, who tells Amanda that she will face no charges.

With fuel levels getting even lower and the plane getting closer to London, Amanda lands the plane, but it's a tense watch as passengers are forced to brace, houses are very closely skimmed over and the landing is more of a fiery crash than anything. But she does it and the plane does manage to land safely, albeit on fire and tearing up the tarmac of the runway.

Emergency services meet the plane almost immediately back on the ground with armed police and firefighters putting out the fire that resulted from the landing.

Sam goes back onto the plane to retrieve the Gucci present we saw him with in Dubai airport, but it turns out that he should've just left the luxury gift as Stuart is waiting for him, armed with two guns. It's a tense face-off but ultimately, Sam manages to trick Stuart with a call from his own phone, which leads him out in to the open part of the plane and is swiftly arrested by armed officers.

The final shot is of Sam finally making his way out of the plane.

Hijack is available to stream on Apple TV+ – sign up now with a 7-day free trial. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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