Episode 5 of Hijack kicks off with Stuart meticulously examining Lewis at the rear of the aircraft. Sam, meanwhile, is escorted back to his seat, but not without his keen eyes scanning the surroundings. His first order of business is to verify the nationality of First Officer Kovacs from his fellow passengers. With the plane soaring over Hungary, a plan begins to take shape in his mind.
Secondly, Sam eavesdrops on Stuart and Lewis' conversation, piecing together clues that suggest they are, in fact, brothers. Zahra, meantime, gives Daniel and Erika their next mission: to proceed to Elaine's house. Elaine, it turns out, is the mother of Stuart and Lewis.
As the Home Secretary, Neil, arrives on the scene, he loudly reads out the hijackers' demands. As mentioned in the previous episode, their sole stipulation is the immediate release of Edgar and John, two individuals who were arrested earlier in the year. Louise jumps at the chance to comply, brushing aside any concerns about the hijackers' violent past. Neil, however, is reluctant to negotiate with terrorists and demands concrete proof of their violent capabilities.
In a tense moment, Sam rises from his seat and summons Stuart over. He takes a calculated risk, informing Stuart that David, the doctor on board, believes Lewis has "less than an hour" to live. Stuart had earlier sought David's assurance that Lewis would be fine, but Sam cleverly reinterprets David's statement in the context of Stuart's threatening tone.
As Stuart rushes back to verify, Sam quickly whispers to Deevia to contact David via the AFT and coach him on what to say. The ruse works, and Stuart now contemplates landing the plane in Hungary.
Meanwhile, the narrative shifts back to Dubai, where the "English cleaners" are poised to leave the house. Before they can make their escape, a curious child from the neighboring house knocks on the door. The cleaners scare him away, but his mother senses something amiss and promptly calls the police. The officers arrive and are confronted with a macabre scene. Unexpectedly, Kai appears at Sam's house, leaving him a cryptic message.
Back on the plane, Jaime voices her concerns about safely landing the aircraft, revealing a past romantic entanglement with Lewis. Stuart capitalizes on her emotional frailty, aiming to soften her resolve. Robin is summoned to assess the prospects of a safe landing and takeoff, but Sam intervenes, insisting that Kovacs handle the communication as she speaks Hungarian fluently. Kovacs, still harboring resentment against Robin for the bruising she sustained in the previous episode, insists on taking charge of the cockpit alone.
Meanwhile, on the ground, Zahra briefs the Foreign and Home Secretaries on the nefarious organization known as The Cheapside Firm. This shadowy group is involved in an international drug trade and other illegal activities. The network was dismantled last November, but the men currently on the plane are high-ranking members, ruthless in their operations.
Kovacs establishes contact with the Hungarian Air Traffic Control and manages to convey that the plane has been hijacked. The Hungarian ATC alerts the British FPCC, and Alice relays the information to British Counterterrorism that the plane is headed for Gyor Airport. Jaden and Terry become aware of the developing situation, realizing that they cannot allow the plane to land as any deviation from the original instructions would result in the deaths of their families. Terry reveals to Sam that the organization has been holding his address and family details hostage, and if the plane lands, his family will be in grave danger.
The Hungarian ATC grants permission for the plane to land and dispatches military forces to the runway, ready to board the aircraft and neutralize the hijackers. It is then revealed that Lewis and Stuart's father, Peter, was killed by Cheapside for disobeying their instructions. Terry was the one who carried out the execution, as Peter's refusal would have led to the deaths of his family. Lewis concedes that the plane should not land and retrieves the Biro from his chest, rendering him unable to breathe and ultimately leading to his demise.
Daniel and Erika arrive at Elaine's house, but she claims ignorance of any involvement. Terrified of speaking with them, she slips out of the house and walks blindly into the path of a speeding vehicle on a busy highway, meeting her untimely death. Stuart is devastated by the sight of his brother's lifeless body. Meanwhile, the plane remains suspended in the air, refusing to land.
The news of Neela's involvement in the Dubai ATC breaks in the Counterterrorism office. It transpires that Neela's family was being held hostage by the English cleaners to coerce her into allowing weapons to be smuggled through security on the plane. The episode comes to a chilling climax as the cleaners arrive at Sam's house and hear Kai's movements upstairs. He attempts to hide, but the fate of both remains uncertain, leaving viewers on a cliffhanger.
