EgyptAir flight to Cairo hijacked and flown to Cyprus

And EgyptAir flight was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus

(Image credit: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 29 March 2016

Egyptian officials said early Tuesday that EgyptAir flight MS181 from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus. An EgyptAir spokeswoman said Cyprus was the destination chosen by the hijacker, and Cyprus state radio reports that the plane, an Airbus with 81 passengers aboard, has landed at Larnaca airport. At least one of the passengers told the pilot he was wearing an explosive belt, EgyptAir said. A Cypriot official tells The Associated Press that it "seems like there's more than one hijacker," but that the only demand so far is that police vehicles not approach the aircraft.

Some of the women and children on board were allowed to disembark, according to officials in Egypt and Cyprus.

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UPDATE (5:04 a.m. EDT): The hijacker reportedly has asked to speak with his estranged Cypriot wife, BBC News reports, and she is being brought to the airport to talk with him. "It is not something which has to do with terrorism," said Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. When a reporter asked if the hijacking was prompted by romantic frustration, Anastasiades laughed: "Always there is a woman involved."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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