EgyptAir hostage incident now over. Hijacker arrested

The arrest came after the hostages escaped from the Airbus A320 which had been diverted to Larnaca in southern Cyprus after being hijacked on a domestic flight between Borj Al Arab near Alexandria and Cairo international airport. There had been 55 passengers on board.
Negotiations had led to most of the passengers being released but the two of the cabin crew and the two flight crew as well as three passengers had been kept on board.
At around 14:45 local time – seven hours after the hijacking – the hostages escaped including via the emergency cockpit window escape.
Cypriot officials had named the hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa. Reports say he wants to talk to his estranged wife in Cyprus. During negotiations for the earlier release of passengers, a letter was given by the hijacker to pass to his ex-wife who lives in Cyprus.Officials said this is not a terrorist incident.The suicide belt that the hijacker was allegedly wearing turned out to be a hoax.

Speaking on BBC World Service, Arabian Aerospace editor Alan Peaford said criticism of the pilot for for following the instructions and diverting to Larnaca, was unfair. "Protecting the passengers and protecting the asset - the aircraft - must be the priority of the commander. He got the aircraft onto the ground where the security professionals were able to deal with the crisis. We know now that this was a hoax carried out by someone with mental health issues. That wasn't known at the time.

"What it does show though is that there is still an underlying concern about airport security in the region. This aircraft had come from Saudi Arabia and then Alexandria. After the events at Sharm el Sheikh last year it is understandable that there are concerns. Egypt needs to reinforce the message that it has stepped up standards at its airports and reassure the industry and the flying public that all is well."