Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

EgyptAir hijack: Full statement from airline on Airbus A320 hostage incident

Adam Withnall
Tuesday 29 March 2016 03:34 EDT
Comments
Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320
Police stand guard at Larnaca Airport near a hijacked Egyptair Airbus A320 (Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

An EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo has been hijacked and flown to Cyprus.

Here is the airline's latest statement in full:

An EGYPTAIR official declared that its flight number MS181 heading from HBE Airport (Borg El- Arab Airport in Alexandria) to Cairo Airport was already diverted to Larnaca airport in Cyprus as the aircraft was hijacked. The aircraft is an Airbus A320 with 56 pax onboard in addition to 7 crew members and one EGYPTAIR security member. The aircraft landed safely at Larnaca.

EGYPTAIR confirms that it is following up with the concerned authorities in Cyprus through EGYPTAIR IOCC and negotiations are undergoing with the highjacker.

EGYPTAIR will update you with any news within one hour.

UPDATE 2: Negotiations with the kidnapper has resulted in the release of all passengers except for the flight crew and four foreigners.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in