All passengers except cabin crew and four foreigners have been released by the hijackers of a domestic EgyptAir flight, travelling from Alexandria, Greece to Cairo.
The hijackers made no immediate demands and a crisis team has been deployed to the airport. The release of the passengers has been confirmed by a spokesperson from the airline on Twitter.
Negotiations with the kidnapped result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners.
The aircraft was carrying 81 passengers and had landed at Larnaca airport at Cyprus.
The airline also confirmed that a passenger on board wearing a suicide belt forced the pilot to divert the flight. Officials are negotiating with the hijackers.
“The Airbus A-320 carrying 81 passengers and flying between Alexandria and Cairo was hijacked. The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca,” the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.
Reports quote the police, saying that the hijackers contacted the control tower at 8:30 a.m (0530 GMT) and the plane was given permission to land at 8:50 am.
Larnaca is no stranger to hostage crises. Several hijacked planes were diverted to the airport in the 1970s and 1980s.
