Egyptair Plane Hijacked En Route To Cairo

The hijacked EgyptAir jet was parked at a secure area at Larnaca airport in Cyprus [Yiannis Kourtoglou/Reuters]

Cairo, 19 Jumadil Akhir 1437/29 March 2016 (MINA) – An EgyptAir domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked on Tuesday and landed in Cyprus, Egyptian officials and Cyprus state radio said.

The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation reported that 55 passengers were on board and a crew of seven.

At least one man was thought to be armed. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus’s flight information region and the airliner was diverted to Larnaca.

Egyptian civil aviation sources and police confirmed the hijacking and said one man was involved. The plane was an Airbus 320, they said.

The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt’s aviation ministry said, Al Jazeera reported.

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The ministry said in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca.

Egyptian state media identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian national who checked in from Alexandria airport.

Local media in Cyprus reported he first asked to be taken to Istanbul but that the pilot refused this demand.

CYBC said the airplane was parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said.(T/R04/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)