EgyptAir Plane on Route to Cairo Hijacked and Diverted to Cyprus · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A screenshot from Flight Radar showing the hijacked flight MS181 at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus
Update 29/03/2016 14:10 UTC: Authorities identified and arrested the suspected hijacker as Seif Eldin Mustafa, an Egyptian living in Cyprus. Some media reports earlier in the day cited a different man, Ibrahim Samaha, as the suspect, but he was merely a passenger on the plane.
A lone hijacker has reportedly hijacked an Egypt Air flight en route from Alexandria to Cairo, forcing the flight to be diverted to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus after claiming he was wearing an explosive belt. On Twitter, netizens and pundits are closely following the news as it develops.
According to a tweet by EgyptAir, Flight MS181, which had 81 passengers on board, including foreigners, was “officially hijacked.”
Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked. we'll publish an official statement now. #Egyptair
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
This tweet has been tweeted about 12K times at the time of writing this post.
In follow up tweets, in Arabic, the airline explains:
تعرضت طائرة مصر للطيران طراز ايرباص 320 رحلة رقم 181 وعلى متنها 81 راكب و المتجهة من مطار برج العرب الى مطار القاهرة الى حالة اختطاف
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
EgyptAir Airbus plane 181, which has 81 passengers on board, and en route from Burj Al Arab airport in Alexandria to Cairo Airport has been hijacked
It continues:
حيث ابلغ قائدها الطيار عمر الجمل عن وجود تهديد من احد الركاب بوجود حزام ناسف فى حوزته واجبر قائدها على النزول فى مطار لارناكة بقبرص
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
It's Captain Omar Al Jammal was informed of a threat from a passenger with an explosive belt in his possession and he forced the captain to land the plane in Larnaca Airport in Cyprus
It's latest update says:
Negotiations with the Hijacker result in the release of all the passengers, except the crew and four foreigners.
— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 29, 2016
According to press reports, the passengers included Egyptians, “eight Americans, four Dutch, two Belgians, four Britons, one Syrian, one French and one Italian.”
The identity and nationality of the remaining passengers, who have not been released, is not known.
And no post on Egypt is complete without a dose of Egyptian humour – even when it is not warranted. Many joked that the passengers were lucky to find themselves out of Egypt.
Shahi tweets:
ركاب الطائرة المصريه المخطوفه يبدون سعادتهم البالغه باختطافهم فور وصولهم مطار #قبرص ويوجهون الشكر الجزيل للخاطفين على اخراجهم من مصر ;D
— Shahi** (@Me_Shosho007) March 29, 2016
The EgyptAir passengers express their extreme happiness for hijacking them and thank the hijackers upon their arrival in Cyprus for getting them out of Egypt
And Mohamed Sleem adds:
طيب حد يراهن إنهم لو أعلنوا عن طيارة هتتخطف في #قبرص و اللي هيكونوا فيها هيقدروا يعيشوا هناك الحجز عليها هيبقى تاريخي ؟
— Mohamed Maged Sleem (@m10maged) March 29, 2016
Bet you if they had announced that this plane would have been hijacked and that the passengers would be diverted to Cyprus and that they could live there that the bookings on this flight would have been historic?
But Ahmed Hamato is naturally not happy with all those jokes:
اية الرخص الي على تويتر دة الي حصل دة مصيبة والناس نازلة تريقة وتصفيه حسابات الي اتخطفت دي طيارة مصرية احنا بنرخص نفسنا اوي كدة ليه #قبرص
— ahmed hamato (@hamatofreedom) March 29, 2016
How cheap of people on Twitter to joke and make fun of this catastrophe. The plane which was hijacked is an Egyptian plane and we are cheapening ourselves by doing this
Ahmed Nimer, from Ramallah, Palestine, quips:
Sigh, hijacking is so 1980s!! #EgyptAir
— أحمد (@ANimer) March 29, 2016
And blogger Josh Shahryar adds:
Suddenly everyone is an expert on Egypt, Cyprus, Egypt Air and Hijacaker negotiations… What's up, Twitter?
— Abu Sumood (@JShahryar) March 29, 2016
Stay tuned for more updates.