One of the hijackers of a plane that landed in Malta in 2016 with 120 people aboard has been deported, the police said on Friday.

In December 2016, an Afriqiyah Airways A320 was hijacked in Libyan airspace by two men - Suhaha Mussa and Ahmed Alid - claiming to be from a pro-Gaddafi group.

No one had been hurt in the hijack, and it remained unclear why they had taken control of the plane.

The plane was on an internal flight from Sebha to Tripoli when it was diverted by the two. Although they threatened to blow up the plane, they were later found to have used fake weapons. 

On Friday the police said one of the men had served his jail sentence in Malta, after being found guilty of hijack and terrorism.

The man was kept in detention until his return as he failed to cooperate with the police.

It is unclear who, of the two men, is being returned, and to where.

The man will not be allowed entry into Malta or any other EU country.