Yemisi Izuora/Agency Report
The man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir flight is said to be wearing a “suicide vest” that contained no explosives but just mobile phone cases made to look like a suicide belt, according to the Cyprus Foreign Ministry.
The hijacker had wanted to fly to Istanbul, but the plane did not have enough fuel so he opted for Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus, ministry spokeswoman Margarita Kiriakou said.
When the plane landed there, the suspected hijacker initially released everyone but the captain, his co-pilot, a flight attendant, a security guard and three passengers.
The hijacker decided on his own to release all but those seven, Kiriakou said.
The hijacker had several demands including speaking with his former wife who lives in Larnaca. Police brought her to the airport and “they spoke for a while,” Kiriakou said.
The man believed to be responsible for the hijacking was arrested and EgyptAir tweeted that all the hostages were released.
The Foreign Ministry of Cyprus tweeted the name of the suspected hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa. Officials said the hijacking was not terrorism but may have been motivated by a personal issue.
“He will be kept in custody and legal procedures will follow,” Kiriakou said.
Officials said he was arrested after some of the remaining people aboard were seen fleeing the plane, one through the cockpit window, on the tarmac at an airport in Cyprus.
The suspected hijacker of the EgyptAir flight that was diverted to Cyprus had initially released all but seven passengers and members of the crew in what officials say was not terrorism but may have been motivated by a personal issue.
Negotiations were ongoing with the hijacker, Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy Ateyya said during a news conference today, as three people were later seen walking off the plane and a fourth climbing out the cockpit window.
Officials had said before the standoff ended that the captain, his co-pilot, a flight attendant, security guard and three passengers were still on board.
The U.S. Embassy in Cyprus says it is looking into whether any U.S. citizens are involved.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades said the incident was not terror-related. “It’s not something which has to do with terrorism,” he said.
An EgyptAir official declared that flight 181 heading from Borg El-Arab Airport in Alexandria to Cairo Airport was diverted to Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus during the hijacking. The plane took off just before 6:30 a.m. local.
A statement from the Egyptian aviation authority said that flight 181 is an Airbus with 55 passengers aboard the flight in addition to crew members.
The aircraft landed safely at Larnaca at 7:50 a.m.
The first released passengers were seen coming down the stairs from the plane and boarding a bus on the runway to be taken to the terminal.
An official with the Civil Aviation Authority told ABC News that not all the passengers have been allowed to leave the plane.