Update | EgyptAir plane hijacker surrenders and hostages released after drama sparked by ‘family matters’
About 55 passengers, plus at least seven crew, had been on board flight MS181 when it was hijacked
An Egyptian plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus by a man apparently distressed over a family matter.
The hijacker, reported to be Seif Eldin Mustafan, was arrested after holding three passengers and four crew hostage for several hours at Larnaca airport.
Just before he surrendered at about 2pm local time, the remaining passengers were seen fleeing the Airbus 320.
Another three people were able to leave by the main door and walk down the steps.
Armed police had taken up positions behind Larnaca airport’s largely disused old terminal buildings as the four emerged.
About 55 passengers, plus at least seven crew, had been on board the Airbus 320 when it was hijacked at about 8.30am local time, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said.
The pilot reported that the man was strapped with explosives, although this was not confirmed.
Officials said the incident was not linked to terrorism.
A Cypriot state broadcaster reported the hijacker was asking for the release of prisoners in Egypt.
Citing security sources, Cypriot state media said that the motives of the hijacker appeared personal and he had asked to contact his ex-wife, who lives in Cyprus.
“It is not something which has to do with terrorism,” Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said.
Asked if a woman was involved he said; “There is always a woman involved.”
There was initially some confusion over the identity of the hijacker.
Eyptian state media originally named him as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but this was later contradicted by Samaha himself, who revealed he was a passenger on the plane.
Gamal al-Omrawi, a deputy dean at Alexandria Unversity, said he had spoken by phone to Samaha, who confirmed that he was one of the passengers who was released.
Cyprus’ foreign ministry later identified the hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa.
The Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane’s pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt who forced him to land in Larnaca.
A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus’s flight information region.
Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot.
Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source.
Egypt’s vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board.
Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East.
A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978.
In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day seige had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed.
EgyptAir has set up an emergency line for those concerned about their loved ones. People calling from Egypt should contact 0800 77 77 000, while those living abroad can call +20 2 259 893 2029.
