The Australian national who sparked a hijacking scare yesterday aboard a Virgin Australia flight had reportedly told Indonesian police that he was not drunk.

Instead, he says he was merely looking for the toilet went he banged on the cockpit door.

“He thought the cockpit was the toilet — he thought he was banging on the door to the toilet,” the Melbourne-based newspaper The Age quoted Bali police spokesperson Hery Wiyanto as saying.

According to the report, the passenger Matthew Christopher Lockley (previously reported as Matt Christopher) had insisted that he did not consume alcohol.

He claimed that he had only taken four Panadols, two Voltaren (an anti-inflammatory drug and painkiller), and two Coca-Colas at Brisbane airport before boarding Flight VA41 to Bali, and slept through most of the flight.

Crew members subsequently restrained Lockley to the rear of the plane while the pilot issued a hijack alert. Virgin Australia officials later clarified it was not a hijack attempt but a drunk and unruly passenger.

As a result, Bali airport was closed causing eight incoming flights to be diverted and five flights to be grounded. Once the plane landed, Lockley was escorted away under armed guard.

After being questioned on Friday night, he was reportedly sent to hospital.

“He’s still feeling disoriented. He’s not feeling well, that’s why he took the medicine in the first place,” Hery said.

The police are reportedly waiting for blood and urine test results before deciding whether to press charges against him for endangering flight safety.

If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison or a 500 million rupiah (RM141,500) fine,the report said.