A hijacked EgyptAir airliner has landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, reports say.
News agencies quote airline and Egyptian government sources as saying that the domestic flight travelling from Alexandria to Cairo was taken over by at least one armed hijacker, reports the BBC
Egypt’s aviation authority said the Airbus A320 had 55 passengers on board and a crew of seven.
Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement that pilot Omar al-Gammal had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger who possessed a suicide belt and forced him to land in Larnaca. The airplane is parked at an apron at Larnaca airport. The hijacker asked police to back away from the aircraft, it said.
It also reported all passengers have been freed except four foreigners and crew members.
