EgyptAir Hijack: Was love behind this hijack drama?

Larnaca (Cyprus) - EgyptAir hijacker arrested after surrendering to Larnaca officials ; all passengers, crew unharmed

An Egyptian man who hijacked an EgyptAir plane during a domestic flight to Cairo and forced it to land on the island of Cyprus on Tuesday has surrendered and was taken into custody after he released all the passengers and crew unharmed.

His surrender ended an hours-long standoff at Larnaca airport on the island nation's southern coast. The hijacker had earlier freed most of the passengers but kept on board seven people - four crew members and three passengers.

The man's motivations were unclear, but officials said the hijacking was not terrorism-related, and that the hijacker had tried to communicate with his Cypriot ex-wife, who lives on the island.

Just minutes before the arrest, local TV footage from the airport showed several people disembarking from the aircraft and a man who appeared to be a crew member climbing out of the cockpit window and sliding down the side of the plane.

Alexandros Zenon, the permanent Secretary of the Foreign Ministry in Cyprus, confirmed the hijacker's surrender and subsequent arrest, saying the situation was "over". Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Sharif Fathi told state television that "all passengers and crew are safe".

Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was "not something that has to do with terrorism", and a Cyprus government official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the man "seems (to be) in love".

Anastasiades, appearing alongside European Parliament President Martin Schulz in Nicosia, was asked by reporters whether he could confirm that the incident was about a woman. "Always, there is a woman," he replied, drawing laughter.

Hijacker wanted to talk to ex-wife

The hijacker had asked to speak to his Cypriot ex-wife, with whom he has four children, a Cypriot police official said. The hijacker also complained about the Egyptian government and demanded the release of female prisoners from Egyptian jails.

A Cypriot civil aviation official said the man gave negotiators the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It was not clear if she was his former wife.

No explosives in belt

The police official said the hijacker walked off the plane and was taken into custody by special anti-terrorism police. He said the man wore a belt but there were no explosives in it.

Flight MS181 took off on Tuesday morning from Bourg El-Arab airport just outside the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. An official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes.

Egyptian officials gave conflicting accounts as the drama unfolded. The Aviation Ministry said in a statement that the hijacker was wearing an explosives belt, which turned out to be untrue.

Egyptian government spokesman Hossam Al Queish identified the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, but an Egyptian woman who identified herself as Samaha's wife said her husband is not the hijacker and was on his way to Cairo so he could fly to the US to attend a conference.

The woman, who identified herself only as Nahla, told the Egyptian private TV network ONTV by phone that her husband had never been to Cyprus and that a photo on Egyptian and regional TV channels that purportedly showed the hijacker was not him.

Later, the official Middle East News Agency identified the hijacker as Seifedeen Mustafa, without providing further details.

Looking back at six deadly hijacking incidents over three decades that resulted in the loss of 267 lives

June 14, 1985 (One dead)

TWA Flight 847

Six members of Hezbollah were responsible for a two-week ordeal involving TWA Flight 847. En route from Athens to Rome, the plane was hijacked just after takeoff and diverted to Beirut, where 19 passengers were freed, and Algiers, where 20 passengers were released.

November 23, 1985 (60 dead)

EgyptAir Flight 648 (Boeing 737-200)

The Athens-to-Cairo flight with 92 passengers was hijacked by 3 Abu Nidal members. An Egyptian officer shot dead one hijacker. The fuselage of the plane was punctured in the exchange of bullets and had to land in Malta. Commandos boarded the plane and in the fight 58 passengers and 2 cabin crew died.

September 5, 1986 (20 dead)

Pan Am Flight 73 (Boeing 747-121)

Four Abu Nidal members, dressed as Karachi airport guards, hijacked the plane carrying 360 passengers for Frankfurt. The hijackers killed an Indian-American passenger after the crew escaped. Pakistani authorities then stormed the plane and 20 passengers died in the exchange of fire.

December 25, 1986 (63 dead)

Iraqi Airways Flight 163 (Boeing 737-270C)

Flight 163 with 91 passengers and 15 crew members en route from Baghdad to Amman was hijacked by four men. Iraqi security personnel tried to neutralise them, but they responded by detonating grenades, causing the plane to crash near Arar, Saudi Arabia. Sixty passengers and 3 crew members died.

November 23, 1996 (122 dead)

Boeing 767-200ER

An Ethiopian airliner carrying 175 people was hijacked over East Africa by Ethiopians who were seeking political asylum in Australia. As the plane did not have enough fuel it crashed into the sea just off a beach on the Comoro Islands resulting in the death of 122 of the 175 passengers and crew members.

December 24, 1999 (one dead)

Indian Airlines flight IC-814

A Delhi-bound Indian Airlines flight with 180 passengers and crew was hijacked by five Taleban terrorists half an hour after take-off from Kathmandu. The plane was diverted to Kandahar International Airport. A week-long hostage drama ended with the three militants beinng released.

• WORLD
• MENA