Naman Shrestha
Created by George Kay and Jim Field Smith, AppleTV+’s ‘Hijack’ is a chilling thriller drama series about the passengers and crew aboard a seven-hour flight as they fight for their lives when a few terrorists hijack the aircraft. When a few hijackers hold the passengers hostage and wreak havoc on a plane flying from Dubai to London, a seasoned business negotiator named Sam Nelson steps up and assumes responsibility for saving the lives of the people on board and ensuring that each individual on the aircraft gets back home safely to their loved ones.
While Sam is trying to hold the fort on air, counterterrorism officer Zahra Gahfoor takes matters into her own hands and pulls out all stops in the investigation on the land. Idris Elba’s terrific portrayal of Nelson, the real-time storytelling approach, and the claustrophobic setting effectively amp up the gripping British show’s nail-biting tension and thrilling factor. If the atmospheric tension generated by the visuals has got you wondering where the show is shot, fret not, for we’ve got you covered.
Hijack Filming Locations
‘Hijack’ is extensively shot in England and Wales, specifically in Aylesbury, London, and Flintshire. The shooting of the inaugural iteration of the electrifying show took place entirely in the United Kingdom, reportedly over six months. Principal photography for the first season mainly commenced on May 9, 2022, and continued for several weeks, concluding after 119 days of taping on November 18, 2022.
Co-creator Jim Field Smith described the whole process of shooting as “emotional.” Alongside a picture of himself on the set on the last day of shooting the first season, he wrote, “…the final shot was with a reduced crew on a windswept motorway overpass. An underwhelming end to an utterly overwhelming shoot.” Now, let’s not waste any more time and traverse through the exact spots where the show is lensed!
Aylesbury, England
According to reports, the filming of the Idris Elba-led starrer series takes place in Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire in southeast-central England. For the purpose of filming, the cast and crew visit the market town and utilize the sound stages and other services of Symmetry Park studio in Aston Clinton. As most of the series is set in an airplane, it is not surprising that the show’s team has chosen the production facility as a pivotal shooting site.
Flintshire, Wales
A few sequences of the first season of the hostage drama series were shot in Flintshire, Wales, specifically in the town of Hawarden. Jamie Hunter, who serves as the Aerial Coordinator and Aerial Director of Photography for the AppleTV production, shared some behind-the-scenes pictures and interesting insights from the production process. Taking to Instagram, he said, “…advising on the Eurofighter involvement, sourcing a Typhoon cockpit for the stage, and running the A330 airborne filming with my good friends Peter Degerfeldt and Ian Black was an incredible experience.”
Explaining how the incredible aerial shots of the Airbus A330 in season 1 were taken, Jamie added, “That airborne filming came down to one day, with a long shot list, and a very tight window of opportunity. Weeks of planning meant it ran on rails – and the results speak for themselves.”
London, England
A minor portion of the ‘Hijack’ is also taped in London, the capital of England. Some cast and crew members were spotted on the streets of north London, shooting a few scenes of season 1 of the airplane-set thriller series. In particular, Max Beesley, who plays the role of DI Daniel O’Farrel, was in the area in mid-August 2022, shooting an intense sequence involving a few other co-stars.
Read More: Best Airplane Hijack Movies of All Time
