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Security forces arrest EgyptAir hijacker after airport standoff in Cyprus Plane hijacking rekindles concerns about Egyptian airport security
(about 5 hours later)
CAIRO — A nearly six-hour hijacking standoff in Cyprus ended Tuesday after the surrender of a man who commandeered an Egyptian airliner, claiming to have an explosive vest, officials said. CAIRO — There was little doubt that Seif Eldin Mustafa was “unstable,” as authorities described him. On Tuesday morning, the 59-year-old Egyptian national boarded an EgyptAir flight and hijacked it to Cyprus by claiming to wear a suicide belt.
There were no immediate reports of injuries among the more than 55 passengers and crew on the EgyptAir flight, and Cypriot officials said no explosives were found on the hijacker or on the aircraft. Nearly six hours later, when the hostage standoff ended peacefully, many things remained unclear — except for two: There were no explosives on Mustafa or on the aircraft. And Egypt’s airport security was again drawing concern, potentially delivering a blow to the country’s already battered economy and its efforts to attract more tourists and foreign investors.
But full details of the incident remained unclear — including the motive.
[What a horrific week of terrorism tells us about the world][What a horrific week of terrorism tells us about the world]
Terrorism was not initially suspected. Cypriot authorities described the hijacker — identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa — as “unstable” but did not elaborate on his mental state or background. Even though Egyptian officials ruled out terrorism as a motive and all the hostages were freed without any reports of injuries, there was an uneasy sense of deja vu. No one had forgotten how a bomb brought down a Russian passenger plane over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in October, an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Since then, Egypt has sought to bolster security at its airports, even hiring international security consultants to build confidence.
Mustafa was taken into custody amid a series of fast-moving events that included an escape by an apparent hostage who slithered down a rope from a cockpit window. Cyprus’s foreign minister then posted a Twitter message saying the hijacker was arrested. So the hijacker’s commandeering of EgyptAir Flight 181 in a fake explosives vest has only set off more alarms. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, plane hijackings have become rarer because of increased airport security, tighter passenger screenings and reinforced cockpit doors to prevent a takeover. Yet Mustafa easily diverted the plane, which took off from the Egyptian port of Alexandria en route to Cairo, from its scheduled path.
In Cairo, officials at EgyptAir also declared an end to the hijacking, which began during a domestic flight in Egypt. It concluded with only a handful of passengers and crew as hostages after the hijacker freed most others at Larnaca International Airport, where the plane landed. The Egyptian airliner — an Airbus 320 — was carrying more than 55 passengers and crew members from several nations, including Americans and Europeans. Within minutes, the hijacker was able to force the plane to head north to Larnaca, a port on the southern coast of Cyprus.
Earlier, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was “not something which has to do with terrorism,” but the reason was not fully apparent. Mustafa’s motive remains unclear. Nor is much known about him. Egyptian media reports described him as a 59-year-old who owned an import-export company, has had run-ins with the law and had once been expelled from the law faculty of Alexandria University. None of the reports could be independently verified.
Cyprus’s state broadcaster said the hijacker asked for the release of political prisoners in Egypt. Earlier, however, a Cyprus government spokesman speculated that the hijacker was driven by a possible failed relationship after asking to deliver a letter to a woman who lives on the eastern Mediterranean island. At one point, Cyprus’s state broadcaster said the hijacker asked for the release of political prisoners in Egypt. A spokesman for the Cypriot government earlier speculated that the hijacker may have been driven by a failed relationship — citing a letter he had asked to deliver to a woman, possibly his former wife, who lives on the eastern Mediterranean island.
[Egyptian aviation under scrutiny after Sinai crash] The television network Sky News Arabia interviewed a woman described as Mustafa’s sister who said that he was unemployed and that his three children lived with his former wife in Cyprus. The sister said Mustafa had been banned from entering Cyprus for a year and described him as “an incredibly peaceful man.”
EgyptAir Flight MS 181 was flying from the northern Egyptian port of Alexandria to the capital, Cairo. Instead, the plane was forced to head north to Larnaca, a port on the southern coast of Cyprus. After the plane touched down in Larnaca, most of the passengers were allowed to disembark almost immediately. But three foreign passengers, the pilot, the co-pilot, a female flight attendant and an air warden were held hostage for the duration of the standoff.
Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s minister of aviation, told reporters that the hijacker had held seven hostages before his arrest, including the captain, his assistant, one flight attendant, a security officer and three passengers. No further details on identities or passenger nationalities were given.
Later, Fathy said some phone calls made by the hijacker while aboard the plane pointed to possible personal and mental problems.
Fathy said the pilot and hijacker had a discussion over whether to fly to Turkey or Cyprus, and decided on European Union-member Cyprus — about 300 miles to the northeast — apparently because the plane did not have enough fuel to reach Turkey.
An Egyptian civil aviation authority spokesman told The Washington Post that 56 people were on board, including 30 Egyptians, 11 Italians, eight Americans, two Belgians, two Greeks, a French citizen and a Syrian. He declined to comment further.
EgyptAir initially said there were 88 passengers on the plane.
[Cyprus no stranger to spillover from Middle East][Cyprus no stranger to spillover from Middle East]
Cypriot media reported that the hijacker wanted to see his ex-wife, who lives in Larnaca. The woman was said to be on her way to the airport. Even as negotiations continued with the hijacker, officials in Cyprus and Egypt were rejecting any connection to terrorism, apparently out of concern for their tourist-driven economies. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said at a news conference that the hijacking was “not something which has to do with terrorism,” even speculating that Mustafa may have been motivated by a relationship with a woman.
Militant attacks in Egypt have surged in recent years, driving tourists and foreign investors away as the government struggles to revive the economy. At a news conference in Cairo during the standoff, Sherif Fathy, Egypt’s minister of civil aviation, chastised a reporter for asking about concerns involving security at Egyptian airports. Other officials, including the tourism minister, touted Egypt’s airport security, saying all protective measures were taken on Tuesday. Egyptians took to social media to deride such claims.
Egypt’s U.S.-backed military is battling an Islamic State affiliate in the country’s northern Sinai Peninsula. In October, a Russian passenger plane was brought down over the Sinai by a bomb planted aboard, an attack that was claimed by the Islamic State. “An officer on ONTV praising Egypt airport security in context of highjacking tells u why world won’t trust us,” tweeted Timothy Kaldas, an academic, referring to a pan-Arab news channel. “We can’t admit we have problem.”
Plane hijackings were once more common, but increased security and passenger screening have sharply reduced the number of aircraft commandeered in flight. The hijacking could not have come at a worse time for Egypt. Militant attacks have surged in recent years, driving tourists and foreign investors away as the government struggles to revive the economy. Egypt’s U.S.-backed military is battling an Islamic State affiliate in the northern Sinai .
In February 2014, a man falsely claiming to have a bomb demanded that a Pegasus Airlines plane — traveling from Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Istanbul — be diverted to Sochi, Russia, which was then hosting the Winter Olympics. The pilot landed in Istanbul, telling the hijacker they were in Sochi. The man, who was apparently intoxicated, was arrested, and no passengers or crew were harmed. Terrorists increasingly see airports as vulnerable targets. In February, a bomb smuggled on a Somali airliner leaving Mogadishu detonated in flight, blowing a hole in the fuselage and killing one passenger. The crew managed to safely land the plane. At another Somali airport, militants detonated a bomb in a laptop. And a week ago, suicide attacks claimed by the Islamic State killed more than 30 people at Brussels’s main airport and a subway station.
Less than two weeks later, the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines Flight from Addis Ababa to Rome took command of the aircraft and landed in Geneva, demanding asylum. He was arrested and no injuries occurred. Despite the increased security, planes remain vulnerable. In February 2014, a man falsely claiming to have a bomb demanded that a Pegasus Airlines plane — traveling from Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Istanbul — be diverted to Sochi, Russia, which was then hosting the Winter Olympics. The pilot landed in Istanbul, telling the hijacker they were in Sochi. The man, who was apparently intoxicated, was arrested. No passengers or crew members were harmed.
In March 2015, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, took control of the plane before crashing it in the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard. Less than two weeks later, the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa to Rome took command of the aircraft and landed in Geneva, demanding asylum. He was arrested, and no injuries occurred. In March 2015, Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525, took control of the plane before crashing it in the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard.
Deane reported from London. Murphy reported from Washington. Heba Habib in Cairo contributed to this report. Inside Flight 181, there were signs that Mustafa was an amateur. He allowed a British passenger to snap a selfie photo with him, which later went viral. In Cairo, Fathy told reporters that some phone calls made by the hijacker while aboard the plane pointed to possible personal and mental problems. He also noted that Mustafa possibly did not possess any explosives. “We’re not sure of the suicide belt,” Fathy said at the time. “It could be a fake one.”
Confusion reigned throughout the standoff. Initially, both Egyptian and Cypriot authorities identified someone else as the hijacker; he turned out to be a passenger. EgyptAir initially said there were 88 passengers aboard. At one point, Cypriot media reported that the hijacker wanted to see his ex-wife and that the woman was said to be on her way to the airport.
About 2 p.m. Egypt time, several events unfolded rapidly, including an escape by an apparent hostage, who slithered down a rope from a cockpit window. The other hostages later walked out of the aircraft, and Mustafa was taken into custody.
“It’s over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair,” Cyprus’s Foreign Ministry tweeted.
Heba Habib in Cairo, Brian Murphy in Washington and Daniela Deane in London contributed to this report.
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