Cultural enrichment - Somalian who hijacked Air NZ flight says she will do it again

A woman jailed after she hijacked an Air New Zealand flight is warning she will do it again when she is released.

Asha Ali Abdille, a refugee from Somalia, was sentenced to nine years in jail after trying to hijack a flight from Blenheim to Christchurch in February, 2008.

The then 33-year-old stabbed both pilots and a female passenger suffered minor wounds as she tried to restrain Abdille.

Abdille - whose sentence is due to end in February - is still classified as a high risk and has reportedly warned that given the chance, she will attempt to hijack an aircraft again.

Radio NZ obtained a written summary of a Parole Board hearing for Abdille, in which is reads that she has “said that she will attempt to hijack another plane and has threatened to set herself on fire.”

The report also said that hospital staff held “ongoing concerns about potential risky behaviour in the community on any release.”

Abdille is due to be transferred into the mental health system on a compulsory treatment order after her sentence ends, Radio NZ said.

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