Hijacked Plane in Egypt Landed in Cyprus

The pilot of the aircraft operated by EgyptAir and hijacked to Cyprus was threatened by a passenger who said that he would detonate explosive belt, transmits Reuters this morning. The airliner has about 80 people on board and was hijacked after taking off from Alexandria on Monday and landed at Larnaka International Airport in Cyprus.

UPDATE: Cypriot sources for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that there were released about 18 passengers. Israeli Air Force planes were built from the ground up to ensure that Israeli airspace was not violated. The measure is a routine procedure, writes Haaretz. Israeli planes have already returned to base and landed when it became clear that the Egyptian plane was removed from Israeli territory, writes the cited publication.

 

The Cypriot radio station announced that there may be an attacker in the airplane. The authorised persons and the police was asked them to depart the aircraft. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Aviation of Egypt confirmed that flight no 181 of the Egyptian company EgyptAir which performed a race between Alexandria and Cairo with 81 people on board was hijacked by a passenger who claimed he had on him a belt with explosives.

Also there are no clear information on the type of airplane. While some sources quoted by Reuters say the plane was Airbus 320, AFP writes that it was a Boeing 737-800. AFP writes that the "hijackers" were not submitting any claims . This is the second time in the last 30 years at Larnaca Airport when a hijacked plane lands in. In 1988, a Kuwaiti plane with 55 people on board landed at Larnaca a few hours after taking off from an airport in Iran, reports In-Cyprus.com.