Egypt defends air safety after hijacking



CAIRO: -- The hijack of EgyptAir Flight MS181 on Tuesday after its take-off from Alexandria may have ended safely.

But security questions raised are likely to deal another blow to the Egyptian tourism industry.

Speaking to reporters as the hostage drama at Larnaca, Cyprus, came to an end, Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that the hijacker at one point demanded a meeting with a representative of the EU and at another point demanded that the plane leave for another airport.

“In general there was no specific demand,” Ismail said.

“He is an Egyptian and obviously there will be a thorough investigation to find out the reasons behind such an act.”

Egypt is eager to demonstrate that security at its airports is good and Ismail said stringent measures were in place.

TV channels have been showing video footage posted by Egypt’s Interior Ministry on its Facebook page in which a man presented as the suspected hijacker is seen passing through a scanner and being searched before the plane took off amid security checks at Alexandria.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-03-30

Egyptian PM: We just had a plane hijacked, therefore our safety procedures are, ahem, safe...

Yes, We are very safe and you can board the aircraft with your own bomb.Only strap on please or carry on that will fit in the overhead or under the seat.For any bomb shipped below we will charge you an extra $50.

Illustrates how paranoid we have all become. The man gets on the plane carrying not much more than a broken heart. He then claims he has a suicide vest on and demands the plane flies to Cyprus where his stranged wife is and where he wants to claim political asylum. This makes headline news throughout the world and all sorts of rumours are flying around about demands for Egyption prisoners to be released and terrorist connections.

In reality an idiot who wants his wife back boards a plane and claims to be wearing a bomb. He wasn't so there was nothing wrong with the airport security. He demanded to see his estranged wife who lives in Cyprus where the plane landed which is hardly the actions of a terrorist or someone calling for the release of prisoners.

The man endangered the lives of others (arguably) and caused a lot of inconvenience. I think most people watching the events could see what was going on but that doesn't make good news coverage.

"Egypt defends air safety after hijacking"

Good luck with that.

Why didn't the pilot contact departure airport security to clarify that the suspect was cleared and not carrying explosives. He could then have acted differently since it seems there was a security agent on board.

Another incident, more grave: Egypt Air is the airline which, even to this day, claims the Egypt Air plane which plunged into the Atlantic several years ago, was not a suicide/mass murder mission by its Egyptian pilot. Any reasonable person who studied the data concludes that it was a suicide/mass murder. Egyptian officials and gov't claim it couldn't have been, because the pilot had done a haj trip to Mecca, therefore he was religiously incapable of doing such a heinous act. Go figure.