Man Hijacks & Diverts EgyptAir Flight to Cyprus to See Ex-wife

A man hijacked an EgyptAir plane, Airbus A320, on Tuesday and diverted it to Larnaca airport in Cyprus to see his ex-wife.

CNN reports the plane was hijacked by a man wearing a bomb vest whom authorities have identified as Seif El Din Mustafa, an Egyptian national. The plane was carrying at least 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo but he diverted it to Cyprus, held them hostage on tarmac in Cyprus and then demanded to see his Cypriot ex-wife.

The situation on the tarmac came to an end just before 1 pm as one of the pilots was spotted struggling with someone inside the cockpit before jumping out of the window, some moments before authorities arrested Seif.

According to reports from the Cyprus police, the hijacker contacted the control tower around 8:30 am and the plane was given permission to land at around 8:50 am after a 5-hour negotiation which saw him leave a four-page letter for his ex-wife.

Nicoletta Tirimou, a police spokeswoman said the letter handed to officials is written in Arabic, adding that the man`s ex-lover had arrived at the airport and that the two had children.

He disembarked the plane at around 14:40 local time with his hands up, while he dropped some items on the ground which were picked and examined by the police.

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The lovesick man has now been arrested.