The BBC's Kate Clark in Kabul says getting hijacked and taken to London does not seem a bad option to many Afghans if it means the hostages get safely off the plane and manage to stay there.
'Missed opportunity'
Afghanistan is a bitterly poor, war-destroyed country and Afghans regularly pay the earnings of a lifetime to shady men who say they will smuggle them into Europe.
"People are selling their family houses and land to get themselves to Britain. These people got [there] free," said Mohammad Siddiq.
"They travelled almost around the world by only spending one million Afghanis ($20)," he said.
One man who was supposed to have been on the flight, but who changed his ticket at the last moment, said he was furious that he had missed the opportunity to get to the West.
Another, a shopkeeper, said that had he known the plane was going to be hijacked and flown to London, he would have tried to get himself and his family on board.
Some people in Kabul speculate that the hijackers' plan is not to press for any political demand but rather to secure asylum.
'Missed opportunity'
Afghanistan is a bitterly poor, war-destroyed country and Afghans regularly pay the earnings of a lifetime to shady men who say they will smuggle them into Europe.
"People are selling their family houses and land to get themselves to Britain. These people got [there] free," said Mohammad Siddiq.
"They travelled almost around the world by only spending one million Afghanis ($20)," he said.
One man who was supposed to have been on the flight, but who changed his ticket at the last moment, said he was furious that he had missed the opportunity to get to the West.
Another, a shopkeeper, said that had he known the plane was going to be hijacked and flown to London, he would have tried to get himself and his family on board.
Some people in Kabul speculate that the hijackers' plan is not to press for any political demand but rather to secure asylum.

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