{"id":202732,"date":"2016-03-30T07:42:44","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T07:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=202732"},"modified":"2016-03-30T07:42:44","modified_gmt":"2016-03-30T07:42:44","slug":"fake-suicide-belt-used-egyptair-hijack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2016\/03\/fake-suicide-belt-used-egyptair-hijack\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake suicide belt used in EgyptAir hijack"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Egyptian hijacker who forced a domestic flight to land in Cyprus used a fake suicide belt, officials said.<\/p>\n

His motives remain unclear but the Cypriot president said the incident was not terrorism-related.<\/p>\n

Footage released by Egypt’s interior ministry shows the man passing through several security checks at Alexandria’s Borg El Arab airport.<\/p>\n

The drama ended with all passengers released unhurt at Larnaca airport and the man giving himself up.<\/p>\n

Cypriot officials named the hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa and said he was “psychologically unstable”.
\nForeign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said Mustafa had initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport, before making a series of “incoherent” demands.<\/p>\n

Police in Cairo were questioning Mustafa’s relatives, AP news agency reported.<\/p>\n

The Egyptair plane left Larnaca at 22:05 local time (19:05 GMT) bound for Cairo, its original destination.<\/p>\n

Questions over security<\/strong>
\nEgypt’s tourism ministry insisted all airport security measures had been “fully implemented” before Egyptair Flight MS181 began its flight earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

CCTV footage released by the interior ministry shows Mustafa being frisked at two security checks and passing a slim bag through x-ray machines.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Youssef Taha says Egypt has taken steps to improve airport security after Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 was blown up over Sinai last October.<\/p>\n

They include an extra $1bn a year and a deal with British consultancy Control Risks to review procedures at Cairo, Sharm El-Sheikh and Marsa Alam airports.<\/p>\n

Despite this, our correspondent says checks remain inconsistent, with many VIPs and MPs refusing to be searched and airport and airline staff routinely bypassing full security screening.<\/p>\n

It is only some small comfort that the man who hijacked Egyptair flight MS181 was bluffing. The bulging white “suicide belt” with wires sticking out turned out to be a fake.<\/p>\n

It at least means that this time Egypt cannot be accused of letting someone smuggle explosives through airport security and on to an airliner as they did in October at Sharm El-Sheikh airport, destroying a Russian passenger jet in mid-air.<\/p>\n

But it still triggers a number of worrying questions about aviation security.<\/p>\n

How was it that a passenger, described by the Cypriot authorities as “mentally unstable” was able to carry enough materials through Alexandria airport to resemble a bomb?<\/p>\n

And what is to stop any future airline passenger, similarly unarmed, from pretending that he or she has a real device strapped to them?<\/p>\n

For Egypt’s battered tourism industry, which has yet to recover from the October airline bombing, this hijack is a further blow it can ill afford.<\/p>\n

‘Always a woman involved’<\/strong>
\nAfter a standoff lasting several hours, the hijacker walked down aircraft steps and surrendered to Cypriot security forces.<\/p>\n

Shortly before that, several people were seen fleeing the aircraft, including one person, apparently a crew member, who climbed out of a cockpit window.<\/p>\n

Other passengers had left the plane after appearing to have been released.<\/p>\n

Earlier, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades had responded to a reporter’s question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, by laughing and saying: “Always there is a woman involved.”<\/p>\n

Egyptair said the Airbus A320 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew and a security official.<\/p>\n

A statement from Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said 26 foreign passengers were on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch citizens, two Belgians, two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Egyptian hijacker who forced a domestic flight to land in Cyprus used a fake suicide belt, officials said. His motives remain unclear but the Cypriot president said the incident was not terrorism-related. Footage released by Egypt’s interior ministry shows the man passing through several security checks at Alexandria’s Borg El Arab airport. The drama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":202441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nFake suicide belt used in EgyptAir hijack - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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