A man from Aberdeen was among four British nationals on an Egyptian plane forced to divert to Cyprus when a hijacker exposed a fake suicide belt.
Pictures of Ben Innes, 26, posing for a photograph with Seif Eldin Mustafa aboard the EgyptAir flight went viral last night as authorities congratulated the captain and crew for how they dealt with the hijacking incident.
The plane was carrying 56 passengers, including 26 foreigners, on a domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo.
Most of those on board were freed shortly after the plane landed at Larnaca airport on the Mediterranean island at 8.50am, before Mustafa held seven people hostage for a number of hours.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We are relieved that the situation at Larnaca airport has now come to a safe conclusion. We are providing consular support to four British nationals caught up in today’s events.
“We remain in close contact with the Cypriot and Egyptian authorities.”
Mustafa was arrested minutes after some of those being held were seen walking down the stairs of the plane, with another escaping through a cockpit window before they were led away by security officers.
EgyptAir said Cypriot authorities at the airport had confirmed “the explosive belt that the hijacker allegedly said that he was wearing is fake”.
Mr Innes, a health and safety auditor, was one of the three last remaining hostages seen running across the tarmac in the moments before Mustafa disembarked the plane and surrendered to police just before 1pm.
He is believed to have sent the picture of the hijacker to one of his flatmates as well as other friends.
The Egyptian minister of tourism, Yehia Rashed, said: “We congratulate the EgyptAir captain and his crew for landing the plane safely and for putting the safety of the passengers as a priority, in a highly professional manner and in accordance with international aviation standards.
“The Egyptian prime minister, Sherif Ismail, was personally involved in helping to resolve this incident and EgyptAir is currently taking the necessary steps to bring back all passengers involved. We are assured by passengers on the flight that all security measures at Borg El Arab Airport were fully implemented.”
gbletcher@thecourier.co.uk