29/03/2016

:00:09. > :00:15.Good morning. It is Tuesday, 9am and I'm Victoria Derbyshire, welcome to

:00:16. > :00:19.the programme. Breaking news, and Egypt air passenger plane has been

:00:20. > :00:24.hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus. The suicide bomber is

:00:25. > :00:27.thought to have a suicide vest on him or with him. All the passengers

:00:28. > :00:33.have been released except for seven members of the group and four

:00:34. > :00:36.non-Egyptians. According to one Cypriot newspaper, three British

:00:37. > :00:38.people are thought to be still on board will stop that is unconfirmed.

:00:39. > :01:00.We will bring you all the details. Breaking News this morning is that

:01:01. > :01:06.Egyptair says one of its planes has been hijacked and forced to land at

:01:07. > :01:11.Larnaca in Cyprus. The hijacker is believed to be strapped with

:01:12. > :01:14.explosives. Egyptair says all passengers on board, barring four

:01:15. > :01:19.foreigners and seven members of crew, have now been released.

:01:20. > :01:21.There are unconfirmed reports three Britons are still on board.

:01:22. > :01:23.The Foreign Office has said it is working to establish

:01:24. > :01:31.if there are any Britons among the passengers.

:01:32. > :01:39.The flight took off from Saudi Arabia and was taken over as it flew

:01:40. > :01:42.from Alexandria en route to the Egyptian capital, Cairo. It is now

:01:43. > :01:47.on the ground at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. Egyptair sent out a tweet

:01:48. > :01:51.this morning announcing one of their planes had been hijacked. Here it

:01:52. > :01:59.is,... That was about an hour and 20

:02:00. > :02:02.minutes or so ago. With us now is the BBC's

:02:03. > :02:14.correspondent in Cairo Ranyah Sabry. What do you know what this stage?

:02:15. > :02:18.The Egyptair flight took off from an International Airport in Saudi

:02:19. > :02:24.Arabia heading to the Egyptian capital Cairo via Alexandria. It

:02:25. > :02:29.landed in exciting and -- in Alexandria, where scores of

:02:30. > :02:33.Egyptians got off. It took off again, supposedly to Cairo, it was

:02:34. > :02:37.redirect it to Cyprus and landed there. The Cypriot officials were

:02:38. > :02:42.the first to announce that the plane was hijacked, supposedly at 5:30am

:02:43. > :02:48.GMT. It is not clear whether the hijacker got on in Alexandria or

:02:49. > :02:53.initially in Saudi Arabia, and whether he has a suicide belt or

:02:54. > :02:59.not, an explosive out. He claims to be armed, he told the pilot that he

:03:00. > :03:04.had an explosive belt, it has not been confirmed so far. But the pilot

:03:05. > :03:08.took his word and redirected the plane. Initially, the hijacker

:03:09. > :03:13.requested to go to Turkey, but the pilot said the fuel was not enough

:03:14. > :03:19.to fly out there, which is why he picked Cyprus as an alternative

:03:20. > :03:25.route. Reports the hijacker is asking for asylum in Cyprus. In

:03:26. > :03:30.terms of those passengers still on board and the crew still on board,

:03:31. > :03:36.and those that have been released, tell us the differences between them

:03:37. > :03:38.at this stage, as far as we know? It is believed that all Egyptian

:03:39. > :03:46.passengers have been allowed to leave the plane, who is left on the

:03:47. > :03:51.plane is the crew, seven Egyptian members, employees of Egyptair, in

:03:52. > :03:58.addition to four non-Egyptian 's. Their nationalities are not clear at

:03:59. > :04:03.the moment, apart from seeking asylum in the hijacker has not made

:04:04. > :04:07.any claims or requests and no entity has claimed responsibility so far

:04:08. > :04:15.for the accident. It is a bit ambiguous and it is the only demand

:04:16. > :04:19.of the hijacker, just to seek asylum in a country different to his

:04:20. > :04:23.homeland, Egypt. We are looking for more details or a claim of

:04:24. > :04:26.responsibility. The Egyptian officials have endorsed the fact

:04:27. > :04:30.that the plane has been hijacked, they say they are looking into the

:04:31. > :04:34.situation and cooperating with the crisis team in Cyprus, but nothing

:04:35. > :04:40.more is clear. In terms of this man asking for asylum, I am reading this

:04:41. > :04:46.on wires, it is being reported by the French news agency AFP, the man,

:04:47. > :04:49.who is not Egyptian, asked for a translator to press his demand, and

:04:50. > :04:57.there are no further details of what else he might want. He apparently

:04:58. > :05:01.has demanded asylum on Cyprus. Exactly. The fact that he is not

:05:02. > :05:05.Egyptian, this is not very clear. According to the name circulated at

:05:06. > :05:10.the moment, he could very well be Egyptian, it is a very ordinary

:05:11. > :05:14.Egyptian name, had he needed a translation into English or to speak

:05:15. > :05:19.to the Cypriot officials. Apart from the asylum he has not so far as

:05:20. > :05:23.anything else. All the passengers who left the plane were not harmed.

:05:24. > :05:27.According to images we have seen of the plane in the airport, the

:05:28. > :05:33.hostess walked the passengers out of the plane, she stood at the top of

:05:34. > :05:38.the stairs looking at them, which seemed to be comparatively composts.

:05:39. > :05:42.She was composed, having been in this situation for a fewer hours --

:05:43. > :05:47.seems to be comparatively composed. Nobody knows how grave all critical

:05:48. > :05:52.this situation is, whether this man is as dangerous as he claims to be,

:05:53. > :05:56.and he claimed to beat when he asked the pilot to redirect and land in

:05:57. > :06:01.Cyprus. When those passengers were released, they walked to a waiting

:06:02. > :06:05.bus, so negotiations had gone on between the pilot, the hijacker and

:06:06. > :06:12.I traffic control on the ground. When they walked, there was not a

:06:13. > :06:17.great deal of urgency when they walked to the bus, it was a calm

:06:18. > :06:22.situation? Exactly, that is what I was saying, it was a calm situation

:06:23. > :06:28.from the passengers, the air hostess was composed. One would expect she

:06:29. > :06:32.would be in a frenzy or trying to go out with them or leave with them,

:06:33. > :06:36.but she looked at them, make sure everybody was off the stairs, turned

:06:37. > :06:40.around and re-entered the plane into what seems to be a calm situation

:06:41. > :06:45.given the fact it has been going on for three hours, that a few minutes

:06:46. > :06:51.before these people were not sure if they were going to be released safe

:06:52. > :06:59.and unharmed. It is Khan at the moment, no losses, no injuries. --

:07:00. > :07:03.it is calm at the moment. Just a demand for asylum in Cyprus. Matthew

:07:04. > :07:10.Finn, an aviation security expert, joins me. How do you read this? A

:07:11. > :07:16.hijacker apparently asking for asylum and telling the pilot that he

:07:17. > :07:20.has a suicide vest on all with him? This is it, ultimately a hijacker is

:07:21. > :07:23.about taking control of an aircraft, and how you do that is a level of

:07:24. > :07:30.detail that is sometimes not as important. This person has been able

:07:31. > :07:33.to exert control over the aircraft, diverted to Larnaca, it was not

:07:34. > :07:38.chewed to go there. The crew believe there was a good enough reason to

:07:39. > :07:42.divert the aircraft. It may be that he was able to present himself as

:07:43. > :07:50.somebody who had a device, or that he does have a device, or does not,

:07:51. > :07:54.we will not know that until it has played out. Still a dangerous

:07:55. > :07:59.situation in the meantime? Absolutely. There is an aircraft

:08:00. > :08:04.with people on board, the remaining passengers and crew. The crew is one

:08:05. > :08:08.of the best assets on the ground right now. The Egyptair crew will be

:08:09. > :08:14.calm, composed, they have training in this environment. It will not be

:08:15. > :08:18.the first time they have been exposed to this situation, although

:08:19. > :08:21.previously it would have been in training or simulation. Hopefully

:08:22. > :08:25.their training will be kicking in and they can manage the situation

:08:26. > :08:29.on-board the aircraft and can provide some helpful context for the

:08:30. > :08:34.remaining passengers on board. If an individual wanted asylum, can you

:08:35. > :08:38.think other plausible explanation as to why you would release the

:08:39. > :08:42.Egyptian passengers but keep the non-Egyptian passengers on board? I

:08:43. > :08:48.would not want to second-guess the motives. It could be that they have

:08:49. > :08:51.their own potentially mental health issues, there are many instances of

:08:52. > :08:57.aviation incidents where somebody has taken control and they have not

:08:58. > :09:03.been battered well. -- have not been very well. It will be difficult to

:09:04. > :09:09.second-guess. We will pause for a moment. Our correspondents in Cairo

:09:10. > :09:16.will stay with us. I am told that we can speak to somebody from a Cyprus

:09:17. > :09:26.newsagency. You are at the airport, what do you know? In the last half

:09:27. > :09:38.an hour, 45 minutes, there is no movement. I can see the aeroplane,

:09:39. > :09:49.there is no movement, the last movement was at around 9:20am,

:09:50. > :09:58.passengers coming across. They were taken in a bus to the main building

:09:59. > :10:01.of Larnaca airport. Everything is still, there is no movement coming

:10:02. > :10:09.in or out of the aircraft. Of course, Larnaca airport is standing

:10:10. > :10:16.still. There are no flights coming in or out. All the flights are

:10:17. > :10:21.directed to Paphos airport. The passengers who were going to leave

:10:22. > :10:30.to go to their destinations will be taken by buses to Paphos airport, as

:10:31. > :10:36.long Islamic is closed. -- as long as Larnaca is closed. Have you heard

:10:37. > :10:41.what we are reporting, that the hijacker wants asylum? No, I cannot

:10:42. > :10:50.verify that information you have. There are rumours about the hijacker

:10:51. > :10:56.wanting something, but I don't know. We don't have official information

:10:57. > :11:00.from the police or the airport, I cannot verify or say anything.

:11:01. > :11:06.Probably you have more information than we have, because we are in the

:11:07. > :11:11.field just at the end of Larnaca airport. The police is moving us

:11:12. > :11:16.from time to time further back from where we are standing, where we were

:11:17. > :11:23.standing when we came at nine o'clock. We can see the plane

:11:24. > :11:27.standing at the end of Larnaca airport, with no movement whatsoever

:11:28. > :11:33.for the last couple of hours. Thank you for talking to us, that is a

:11:34. > :11:38.correspondence from a Cyprus newsagency at the airport, but

:11:39. > :11:41.clearly some distance away from where the plane is standing,

:11:42. > :11:45.motionless. If you are just tuning in, good

:11:46. > :11:49.morning, let's bring you the latest on the breaking news from Egypt,

:11:50. > :11:54.that an Egyptair domestic flight from Alexandria to Cairo has been

:11:55. > :12:00.highlight -- hijacked this morning and forced to land in Cyprus. The

:12:01. > :12:05.pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger who said he had a

:12:06. > :12:11.suicide vest either on him with him, that is not clear yet. 55 passengers

:12:12. > :12:15.on board and a crew of seven, most of the passengers were released

:12:16. > :12:24.about half an hour or so ago. Those remaining on board, we are told, are

:12:25. > :12:31.four non-Egyptians, and the seven crew members. It is also being

:12:32. > :12:37.reported that the man who has forced the plane to land in Cyprus is

:12:38. > :12:42.demanding asylum. Those passengers released a little earlier walked to

:12:43. > :12:49.a waiting bus, pretty calmly, it has to be said. There did not seem to be

:12:50. > :12:54.an air of panic, although no doubt on-board that plane as it forced to

:12:55. > :12:57.divert, it was meant to be landing at Cairo, it was diverted to

:12:58. > :13:03.Larnaca, no doubt there would have been a lot of unsettled people on

:13:04. > :13:08.board, Matthew Finn? Absolutely, who knows what was going on on board the

:13:09. > :13:11.aircraft at that time? It is a very stressful situation. I come back to

:13:12. > :13:16.the crew who will hopefully remember their training, they are a great

:13:17. > :13:21.asset in these situations. What will they be doing now? Keeping

:13:22. > :13:25.communication going, hopefully providing a buffer between the

:13:26. > :13:30.hijacker and the passengers, continuing in their GT of care,

:13:31. > :13:33.looking after the safety and well-being of passengers so there is

:13:34. > :13:38.no direct interaction between the hijacker and passengers themselves.

:13:39. > :13:41.Given the discussion about nationality, it was possibly the

:13:42. > :13:47.crew that had to go out and get the travel documents to reveal who was

:13:48. > :13:51.from which country around the world. Providing basic information and

:13:52. > :13:57.water, all of these things are really important to keep the

:13:58. > :13:59.situation under control and keep the communication flowing around the

:14:00. > :14:04.aircraft and with the people on the ground. And clearly ago she Asians

:14:05. > :14:09.must have been going on earlier in order to release those Egyptian

:14:10. > :14:14.passengers? -- and clearly negotiations must have been going

:14:15. > :14:17.on? O'Gara even to get the stairs, it would have required lines of

:14:18. > :14:24.communication, dialogue to be established. This is good use will

:14:25. > :14:28.stop if there is communication there is the capability to start mediation

:14:29. > :14:32.and negotiation, so it is all very positive, as is the release of the

:14:33. > :14:36.majority of passengers. It was reassuring to see the calm manner in

:14:37. > :14:40.which they were released from the aircraft. Obviously now attention

:14:41. > :14:44.remains on those passengers and crew who remain in the aircraft, and

:14:45. > :14:51.understanding that those lines of communication remain open. And a

:14:52. > :14:52.dialogue can continue to be established to affect a safe outcome

:14:53. > :14:58.for everybody involved. #6 l on the flight. We'll keep our

:14:59. > :15:00.coverage here on BBC News with Victoria Derbyshire. #6 It's now

:15:01. > :15:06.being reported by Cypriot media that the hijacker has asked for a letter

:15:07. > :15:16.to be handed over to a woman in Cyprus. One newspaper says the woman

:15:17. > :15:19.is the hijacker's ex-wife. Ranyah, I think you are still with us, you are

:15:20. > :15:27.getting this information I think at the same time? Yes, we are. The

:15:28. > :15:31.hijacker has requested this letter to be delivered to his ex-wife who

:15:32. > :15:35.lives in Cyprus, but we have also been receiving reports that

:15:36. > :15:39.initially he had asked the pilot to go to Istanbul, Turkey, not Cyprus.

:15:40. > :15:46.Let me also correct a bit of information, this was not an

:15:47. > :15:49.internal flight, it was an international flight initiated from

:15:50. > :15:55.Saudi Arabia, heading to Cairo via Alexandria. It landed in Alexandria,

:15:56. > :16:00.people got off there, it took off again to head to Cairo, then it was

:16:01. > :16:03.diverted and landed in Cyprus. So it's an international flight, not an

:16:04. > :16:08.internal flight and it's not known if the hijacker got on the plane in

:16:09. > :16:10.Saudi Arabia or in Alexandria. That remains to be confirmed by the

:16:11. > :16:18.authorities once the investigation is on its way. The hijacker asked

:16:19. > :16:22.the pilot to redirect to Turkey and the pilot replied that he did not

:16:23. > :16:26.have enough fuel in the plane and then he chose Cyprus as an

:16:27. > :16:30.alternative route. We have heard that he has requested this letter to

:16:31. > :16:41.be handed to his ex-wife who lives in the country and that he has

:16:42. > :16:46.sought asylum in Cyprus as well. Matthew Finn, unconfirmed the fact

:16:47. > :16:49.this hijacker has asked for a letter to be handed over to a woman in

:16:50. > :16:53.Cyprus, said to be his ex-wife. If that turns out to be the case, we

:16:54. > :16:56.are looking at a very different scenario than we thought we were

:16:57. > :17:01.looking at about half an hour or so ago? We are and it's actually

:17:02. > :17:06.reassuring in many respects. What I said earlier about so many instances

:17:07. > :17:12.that happen in aviation, there are far more instances of disruptive or

:17:13. > :17:17.violent behaviour on board aircraft than are reported in the press.

:17:18. > :17:21.Obviously major aviation security incidents and hijacks like the one

:17:22. > :17:25.today get a lot of attention. But there are other lesser talked about

:17:26. > :17:29.instances where people are suffering with mental health, maybe even had

:17:30. > :17:34.too much to drink or other situations like that. What it

:17:35. > :17:38.appears in this situation, as it unfolds, is that the person in

:17:39. > :17:44.question is just merely trying to get in touch with his ex-wife. If

:17:45. > :17:48.that is the case, hopefully this situation can be quickly dealt with

:17:49. > :17:52.and managed. Yes. Unconfirmed that that is the scenario that he wants

:17:53. > :17:55.this letter to be handed over to a woman in Cyprus, although reported

:17:56. > :18:02.earlier that he's demanding asylum in Cyprus.

:18:03. > :18:10.Let's talk now to Jason Burke from the Guardian newspaper who is in

:18:11. > :18:13.Lahore today. Jason Burke, again, unconfirmed reports that this man

:18:14. > :18:22.who hijacked this plane has asked for asylum. But it's initially

:18:23. > :18:27.thought that this could be another potential terrorist attack, that was

:18:28. > :18:31.the initial thought? Yes, understandable given the week we

:18:32. > :18:37.have had and the history of Islamic militants around the world targeting

:18:38. > :18:43.aviation. We know that aviation is a favourite target for Islamic

:18:44. > :18:47.militants, most obviously infamously with the 20019/11 attacks. But

:18:48. > :18:56.before and half, it does now look, thankfully, as though this is very

:18:57. > :19:08.much not Islamic militancy, it may even be the case that the supposed

:19:09. > :19:10.suicide bomb or belt that the passenger is supposedly equipped

:19:11. > :19:13.with may turn out to be fake or something different. It's

:19:14. > :19:17.understandable that we are jumpy about it, it does underline the

:19:18. > :19:22.importance of not jumping to conclusions in these sorts of

:19:23. > :19:25.situations too early. Yes, absolutely right. It's worth

:19:26. > :19:33.saying hijacking is pretty rare isn't it? It is very rare. You've

:19:34. > :19:38.had maybe a dozen or so successful hijacks in the last 15 years. The

:19:39. > :19:46.golden age, as it was called, of hijacking, was in the 70s, that was

:19:47. > :19:50.partly due to the almost entire absence of any serious security

:19:51. > :19:54.controls, certainly at the beginning of the decade and it was used by

:19:55. > :19:58.terrorists then, rather different types of terrorists but still

:19:59. > :20:07.terrorists to gain global attention for their cause. It was an effective

:20:08. > :20:11.way of doing so. One of the most spectacular events of the 70s in

:20:12. > :20:15.terms of hijacking was of three or four planes landed in northern

:20:16. > :20:19.Jordan. They were blown up without any of the passengers on board. The

:20:20. > :20:24.passengers were disembarked, then the planes were blown up simply for

:20:25. > :20:27.the spectacular images and to make that point a terrorist wants to make

:20:28. > :20:33.and to gain the attention that they want to gain. This obviously is a

:20:34. > :20:38.very different situation and the motives of the passenger which are

:20:39. > :20:41.still unclear seem to be of an entirely different nature. Jason

:20:42. > :20:45.Burke, many thanks. Just to update you if you are just

:20:46. > :20:52.tuning in. This is the breaking news from the last hour or so, a man has

:20:53. > :20:56.hijacked an Egyptair plane travelling from Alexandria to Cairo

:20:57. > :20:58.forcing it to land in Cyprus. The plane began its flight in Saudi

:20:59. > :21:03.Arabia, it was an international flight. Most passengers have been

:21:04. > :21:09.released but at least four foreign passengers and crew were sold -- we

:21:10. > :21:15.are told, remain on board. Egyptian state media have highlighted the

:21:16. > :21:19.hijacker as an Egyptian national. It's believed he's demanded asylum

:21:20. > :21:23.in Cyprus. The hijacker was reportedly either strapped with

:21:24. > :21:29.explosives or certainly said he had a suicide vest. That is what the

:21:30. > :21:33.pilot reported to air control. That's not been confirmed. Matthew

:21:34. > :21:37.Finn is an aviation security expert. If you are a passenger on a plane

:21:38. > :21:41.and want to divert it, then presumably you need to say you have

:21:42. > :21:46.a suicide vest, don't you? Well, again, that goes back to that

:21:47. > :21:52.conversation earlier about control. Arguably, a lot of ayiation security

:21:53. > :21:57.is about preventing people from getting prohibited items, weapons,

:21:58. > :22:02.grenades, explosives on board. If indeed this hijacker has any of

:22:03. > :22:04.those? Yes. But arguably, with intent, you could actually

:22:05. > :22:07.demonstrate that you have a device, you can pretend to have a device,

:22:08. > :22:10.and if that is believable or credible, you can still effect the

:22:11. > :22:14.same outcome. So that might be the case here,

:22:15. > :22:17.whether the passenger doesn't actually have any device on him

:22:18. > :22:21.whatsoever but is saying that he has a device and is going to detonate it

:22:22. > :22:26.at any given time. It's about control. You don't need to get to

:22:27. > :22:31.the pilot to get that message through to the pilot do you? That's

:22:32. > :22:37.quite difficult today. That's one of the single most effective responses

:22:38. > :22:42.post-9/11, to reinforce the cockpit door. That prevents anyone from

:22:43. > :22:45.gaining access to the aircraft that doesn't have legitimate access to

:22:46. > :22:49.it. The reality is that becoming difficult to manage in a situation

:22:50. > :22:52.where your fellow crew members and passengers are just on the other

:22:53. > :22:57.side of a door suffering under a particular situation. So the door

:22:58. > :23:02.should remain closed, the question is, does it always. But that is a

:23:03. > :23:05.good mechanism to prevent that from happening. There is a line of

:23:06. > :23:09.communication between the flight deck and the cabin. The cabin crew

:23:10. > :23:12.could have relayed that message to the flight deck saying this is the

:23:13. > :23:17.situation we have, established that line of communication with the

:23:18. > :23:22.captain, who then chose to divert to Larnaca because of, as we heard,

:23:23. > :23:25.fuel limitations. Yes, the pilot asked initially by

:23:26. > :23:30.the hijacker to redirect the plane to Turkey. The pilot said, I don't

:23:31. > :23:34.have enough fuel for that, and so they ended up in Larnaca Airport in

:23:35. > :23:41.Cyprus. Matthew Finn thank you very much for your time. Still much

:23:42. > :23:46.unconfirmed on this story. Jonny Dymond is here. The nature of the

:23:47. > :23:51.story appears to be changing? It does appear to be changing from what

:23:52. > :23:55.is probably everyone's first reaction these days which is, is

:23:56. > :24:00.this a terrorist act and people indeed leap very quickly to Islamic

:24:01. > :24:04.state, so jittery are we, so-called Islamic state we should say. It's

:24:05. > :24:08.emerging this man is not carrying out a political act or not a broad

:24:09. > :24:13.political act. He may or may not have tried to get in touch with

:24:14. > :24:17.someone on the island of Cyprus. He appears to have claimed asylum.

:24:18. > :24:21.Again, all these suggestions and claims have to be qualified, we are

:24:22. > :24:25.not getting hard facts. He's released the majority of the

:24:26. > :24:28.passengers very, very early on which is not what you would do in general

:24:29. > :24:31.if you were hijacking a plane. Nearly all of them we understand,

:24:32. > :24:36.bar four foreign nationals and the seven crew, have been released.

:24:37. > :24:40.There are still extremely important questions to be asked. First of all,

:24:41. > :24:44.is he wearing what he appears to say he is wearing, which is a suicide

:24:45. > :24:49.belt and secondly, where did he board this plane, did he board in

:24:50. > :24:55.Alexandria or at its original point which was Saudi Arabia. If he

:24:56. > :24:58.boarded it in Alexandria, if he is carrying a suicide belt, it's an

:24:59. > :25:03.astonishing lapse by the Egyptian authorities. In 2015, a plane from

:25:04. > :25:07.Sharm El-Sheikh was bombed out of the sky, everybody killed. What

:25:08. > :25:11.looks like a catastrophic lapse in security by the Egyptian end of

:25:12. > :25:16.things in Sharm El-Sheikh. If this man's got on a plane with anything

:25:17. > :25:21.resembling a suicide belt in Alex and aye, it will be a huge blow for

:25:22. > :25:28.Egypt and its tourist industry and reputation -- Alexandria. When we

:25:29. > :25:32.saw the majority of the passengers being released earlier, there

:25:33. > :25:37.appeared to be a mood of calm. Nobody was dashing for the bus that

:25:38. > :25:42.was waiting to take them to freedom, people were walking in a composed

:25:43. > :25:46.manner. We are told the stewardess was composed too? This looks very,

:25:47. > :25:51.very different from the kinds of things we heard Jason Burke talking

:25:52. > :25:55.about there from this so-called golden age, fairly grim term, of

:25:56. > :25:59.terrorism, where passengers might be kept on board planes for days on

:26:00. > :26:03.end. Food and water would be brought in, passengers would be split off,

:26:04. > :26:11.taken to hotels. This is a very different story. This starts to look

:26:12. > :26:15.like a very upset man with some personal difficulties, perhaps

:26:16. > :26:22.personal political difficulties thus the suggested claim for asylum in

:26:23. > :26:25.the island of Cyprus, a claim which seems unlikely will get granted if

:26:26. > :26:31.this is his way of doing it. It starts to look like a smaller

:26:32. > :26:36.affair, albeit still very dangerous. There are 11 people on board. It's a

:26:37. > :26:41.difficult time but it's not, it looks like the sort of classic

:26:42. > :26:45.terrorist act, of the 1970s where a plane load of passengers, perhaps

:26:46. > :26:50.several plane loads at one time if you remember in Jordan in the early

:26:51. > :26:54.1970s, that happened and they were taken, held and used as bargaining

:26:55. > :26:59.chips in front of the global media. If he is using the remaining

:27:00. > :27:04.passengers as bargaining chips, we are told they are non-Egyptian. We

:27:05. > :27:11.are told they are foreign nationals. What could be an explanation for

:27:12. > :27:14.that, do you think? It's extremely difficult because it appears, and

:27:15. > :27:18.again we are in the realms of speculation, but it appears in

:27:19. > :27:21.amongst the passengers released earlier, about an hour ago, there

:27:22. > :27:25.were or may have been foreign nationals there, so it's not quite

:27:26. > :27:29.clear whether or not he has attempted to keep foreign nationals

:27:30. > :27:34.back and release Egyptian citizens in the hope perhaps that foreign

:27:35. > :27:39.nationals are in this perverse world worth more, or whether it's just an

:27:40. > :27:43.accident of fate. Obviously foreign governments around the world will be

:27:44. > :27:47.scrambling to find out if they are their nationals. We don't have hard

:27:48. > :27:50.certainty as to whether or not any British citizens were involved, we

:27:51. > :27:55.don't know the nationalities of the rest of those who were relessed. The

:27:56. > :27:58.likelihood is, if this was a partly internal flight, because this was

:27:59. > :28:04.Saudi Arabia, Alexandria, then it was meant to go to Cairo. The

:28:05. > :28:08.likelihood is, most of the people on board are Egyptian citizens. We are

:28:09. > :28:11.slightly in the dark about quite why four in particular foreign nationals

:28:12. > :28:15.were held back when the vast majority of the others were

:28:16. > :28:18.released. Yes. If you are one of those passengers left on board

:28:19. > :28:21.though, you will be feeling very afraid right now? It's an absolutely

:28:22. > :28:26.terrifying time. If you talk to people who've been in any of these

:28:27. > :28:30.kinds of situations, it's immensely isolating. You go from what is an

:28:31. > :28:34.absolutely routine experience for many, many people now, which is

:28:35. > :28:38.catching a plane, internal flight, even an international flight, you go

:28:39. > :28:42.from that and suddenly your world is changed, you are cut off from the

:28:43. > :28:44.rest of the passengers, you have very limited communications,

:28:45. > :28:49.presumably unless they have ability to get through on their mobile

:28:50. > :28:52.phones, sudden think hire acte is reversed, the people who you have

:28:53. > :29:01.entrusted your safety to, the crew of the plane are no longer really in

:29:02. > :29:05.control. They'll presumably take some Sukur from the fact that the

:29:06. > :29:12.majority of the passengers have been released. We have got around 40-odd

:29:13. > :29:16.passengers released after 55 in total we think there were.

:29:17. > :29:19.Presumably it's relatively calm on board the plane and there are

:29:20. > :29:24.negotiations ongoing. Yes. We'll talk about the

:29:25. > :29:29.negotiations in a second. Reuters is reporting that the Cyprus state

:29:30. > :29:33.broadcaster is reporting that more passengers have been seen leaving

:29:34. > :29:37.the hijacked Egyptair plane. We don't have the live pictures of that

:29:38. > :29:42.at the moment. This is according to Reuters. They say Cyprus state

:29:43. > :29:47.broadcaster are showing more passengers leaving the Egyptair

:29:48. > :29:51.plane as it stands stationary on the ground at Larnaca.

:29:52. > :29:55.If that is true, very good news? Very good news. It suggests,

:29:56. > :30:01.although we don't want to jump ahead of ourselves, it suggests that this

:30:02. > :30:06.may be winding down. Let's stand back, there was 55 passengers and

:30:07. > :30:09.seven crew, it then was down to four passengers left on the plane with

:30:10. > :30:13.the seven crew. If we are seeing more passengers coming out, that is

:30:14. > :30:16.in all likelihood the rest of the passengers coming out. Perhaps some

:30:17. > :30:20.crew with them as well, we don't know.

:30:21. > :30:26.It starts to sound like the kind of thing Turkey experienced a couple of

:30:27. > :30:31.years ago, where you would get somebody who was not entirely stable

:30:32. > :30:36.grabbing some of that looked like explosives, I think it was a handful

:30:37. > :30:39.of candles in one case, the pilot reacts as safely as possible but it

:30:40. > :30:43.is not the kind of threat that people assume when they hear the

:30:44. > :30:48.word hijacking. It begins to look like that, but we will have to see.

:30:49. > :30:52.The associated rest is saying that 56 people on board the hijacked

:30:53. > :30:55.plane have now been released, they had left the aircraft, it would

:30:56. > :31:05.suggest that all the passengers and one member of the crew. Reuters say

:31:06. > :31:12.that the hijacker is a professor of that in a and at Alexandria

:31:13. > :31:16.University. The Egyptair hijacker, Reuters says, a professor of

:31:17. > :31:23.veterinary medicine at Alexandria University. That has come from the

:31:24. > :31:27.University website, apparently. Obviously a fairly unlikely

:31:28. > :31:30.profession for I hijacker, it is not something you get every day, a

:31:31. > :31:35.professor of veterinary medicine carrying out a hijacking, if that is

:31:36. > :31:42.the case. It seems to lean towards, rather than it being a big,

:31:43. > :31:44.political hijacking, that this man has temporarily, perhaps, taken

:31:45. > :31:50.leave of his senses and has been driven by some force which we do not

:31:51. > :31:53.quite know to carry this hijacking. What is exceptionally good news for

:31:54. > :31:58.those on board is that he appears to be acting incredibly rationally,

:31:59. > :32:02.perhaps having second thoughts when faced with a planeload of clearly

:32:03. > :32:08.terrified passengers and thinking, I have to buying this down, these

:32:09. > :32:12.people need releasing. -- I had to wind this down. It seems that all

:32:13. > :32:17.passengers and one crew member, about an hour and a half after the

:32:18. > :32:21.plane landed, have been released. Exceptional good news if this is the

:32:22. > :32:27.case. Some broadcasters in Cyprus showed this image of the man they

:32:28. > :32:31.claim is the hijacker. We have not been able to independently verify

:32:32. > :32:36.this, but you can see it here. Just to say again, it has not been

:32:37. > :32:42.independently verified, we have not verified it, but some broadcasters

:32:43. > :32:48.are showing this still image of the man they say is the hijacker of the

:32:49. > :32:51.plane, the professor of veterinary medicine, we are told, from

:32:52. > :32:56.Alexandria University. This is the image we are being shown of the man

:32:57. > :33:02.who told the Egyptair pilot that he had a suicide vest on all with him,

:33:03. > :33:06.and he wanted the plane to be diverted to Turkey, actually. The

:33:07. > :33:12.pilot said he did not have enough fuel for that. The plane has ended

:33:13. > :33:17.up in site press ad Larnaca airport. -- ended up in Cyprus. Some

:33:18. > :33:23.broadcasters are showing this image of the man they say has hijacked

:33:24. > :33:28.this particular Egyptair plane. According to Reuters, if it is,

:33:29. > :33:31.indeed, the hijacker, is a professor of veterinary medicine from

:33:32. > :33:34.Alexandria University. Jonny Diamond, thank you very much

:33:35. > :33:37.for the moment. It is coming up to 9:30am.

:33:38. > :33:40.The airline Egyptair says one of its flights has been hijacked

:33:41. > :33:47.The hijacker's reportedly had a suicide belt on him or with him.

:33:48. > :33:52.Cyprus state media has said he has demanded asylum in the country.

:33:53. > :33:55.Reuters report he is a professor of veterinary medicine from Alexandria

:33:56. > :33:59.universe due. Egyptair says most passengers

:34:00. > :34:01.on board, barring four foreigners and seven members of the crew,

:34:02. > :34:11.have now been released. But, as you know, in the last few

:34:12. > :34:17.seconds, one news agency, Associated Press, quotes a Cyprus official as

:34:18. > :34:20.saying that 56 people on board have been released, winning all

:34:21. > :34:21.passengers and potentially one crewmember.

:34:22. > :34:23.The Foreign Office has said it is working to establish

:34:24. > :34:25.if there are any Britons among the passengers.

:34:26. > :34:27.The flight originally took off from Saudi Arabia and stopped off

:34:28. > :34:30.in Alexandria, which is when it was taken over as it

:34:31. > :34:37.It is now on the ground at Larnaca airport in Cyprus.

:34:38. > :34:43.We also understand that flights to Larnaca are being

:34:44. > :34:49.Earlier our correspondent in Cairo, Ranyah Sabry gave us the latest.

:34:50. > :34:58.The Egyptair flight took off from the International Airport in Saudi

:34:59. > :35:02.Arabia heading to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, via Alexandria. It

:35:03. > :35:06.landed in Alexandria, where scores of Egyptians got off in their home

:35:07. > :35:11.village, when it took off again, supposedly to Cairo, it was redirect

:35:12. > :35:16.did toward Cyprus and landed there. The Cypriot officials were this

:35:17. > :35:21.verse to announce that the plane was hijacked, supposedly, add 5:30am

:35:22. > :35:26.GMT. It is not clear at the moment whether the hijacker got on in

:35:27. > :35:33.Alexandria or in Saudi Arabia, and also whether he has a suicide belt

:35:34. > :35:37.or not. He claims to be armed, he told the pilot that he had an

:35:38. > :35:43.explosive belt, but it has not been confirmed so far. The pilot took him

:35:44. > :35:47.at his word and redirected the plate. Initially, the hijacker

:35:48. > :35:52.requested to go to Turkey, but according to the pilot fuel was not

:35:53. > :35:56.enough to fly out, which is why he picked Cyprus as an alternative

:35:57. > :35:59.route, and there are reports that the hijacker is asking for asylum in

:36:00. > :36:07.Cyprus. It is being reported in the Cypriot

:36:08. > :36:10.media that the hijacker might have personal motives and he has asked

:36:11. > :36:17.boiler tipped to be delivered to his ex-wife. Aviation security expert

:36:18. > :36:22.Matthew Finn says, if true, that changes it completely. It is

:36:23. > :36:26.reassuring in many affect. What I said about some of the instances

:36:27. > :36:32.that happen in aviation, there are far more instances of disruptive or

:36:33. > :36:36.violent behaviour on board aircraft than reported in the press.

:36:37. > :36:43.Obviously major aviation security incident and hijacks like the one

:36:44. > :36:47.today get attention, but there are lesser talked about instances where

:36:48. > :36:52.people are suffering from mental health, have maybe had too much to

:36:53. > :36:56.drink or other situations like that. It appears, as this situation

:36:57. > :37:02.unfolds, that the person in question was merely trying to get in touch

:37:03. > :37:03.with his ex-wife. If that is the case, hopefully the situation can be

:37:04. > :37:06.quickly dealt with and manage. On the line is Michael Theodolou,

:37:07. > :37:15.a British journalist for the Times What are you hearing? The latest

:37:16. > :37:21.report in the local media is that the man may have personal motives,

:37:22. > :37:26.that there was a letter written in Arabic which was dropped onto the

:37:27. > :37:30.tarmac, asking it to be delivered to his ex-wife who is apparently a

:37:31. > :37:34.Cypriot. That is good news, it suggests he does not have big

:37:35. > :37:39.political motives, he is not demanding safe release of terrorist

:37:40. > :37:45.prisoners in other countries. More people have been seen leaving the

:37:46. > :37:52.plane in the last few minutes. Reuters are reporting that this man

:37:53. > :37:58.is a professor of veterinary medicine from Alexandria University?

:37:59. > :38:04.Yes. That, I think, is coming from the Egyptian authorities and is an

:38:05. > :38:08.encouraging sign. It does not fit the modern terrorist profile, if you

:38:09. > :38:11.like. And it might suggest that early reports that he was supposed

:38:12. > :38:18.to be carrying a suicide belt might be wrong, maybe he had something

:38:19. > :38:21.that appeared to be very dangerous but questions would obviously had to

:38:22. > :38:26.be asked how you get explosives onto a plane. Maybe he made something on

:38:27. > :38:33.the plane look like it was dangerous. We are getting this

:38:34. > :38:39.information reported by AFP, the French news agency, they say at

:38:40. > :38:44.least five more people have been released from that plane. The five,

:38:45. > :38:50.wearing what appeared to be crew uniforms, were descending from the

:38:51. > :38:54.aircraft. And this has just reached us, the hijacker has an estranged

:38:55. > :38:59.Cypriot wife, he has demanded to see her. A government source is telling

:39:00. > :39:06.AFP that she is being brought to Larnaca airport as we speak. Yes, in

:39:07. > :39:10.fact I have seen her named on social media, I will not repeat that

:39:11. > :39:15.because it has not been confirmed, she is from a village outside

:39:16. > :39:19.Larnaca, according to local reports. The Cypriot authorities, who have

:39:20. > :39:24.experience of dealing with hijacks in the past, the last one was 20

:39:25. > :39:30.years ago, but they are good at this and into which with the foreign

:39:31. > :39:34.embassy. -- and in touch with. There is a strong security presence at

:39:35. > :39:41.Larnaca airport, which has been closed for the time being. Thank

:39:42. > :39:42.you, Michael. That was a British journalist for the Times newspaper

:39:43. > :39:44.based in Cyprus. The Foreign Office has

:39:45. > :39:46.updated its travel advice to people The aviation consultant

:39:47. > :40:25.David Learmount joins us via webcam. Hello. What do you make of this in

:40:26. > :40:35.terms of security? It is very, very significant. It is (INAUDIBLE)

:40:36. > :40:41.Of discipline by the Egyptian crew. There was a great history of hijacks

:40:42. > :40:44.starting in the 1970s. Ever since 9/11 and the security measures put

:40:45. > :40:52.in place there, we have not had any hijacks. We are seeing something

:40:53. > :40:55.extraordinary. That's captain, who access to just aren't being told

:40:56. > :41:03.that somebody on board had a suicide vest, should have had sufficient

:41:04. > :41:09.confidence in the security services to know that that was impossible,

:41:10. > :41:15.therefore he should not have followed the instructions of the

:41:16. > :41:21.hijacker. The only thing which might have made him nervous, again, it has

:41:22. > :41:26.an Egyptian base, that is that a bomb was got on board an aircraft

:41:27. > :41:32.which flew out of Sharm el-Sheikh in December last year. That may have

:41:33. > :41:38.made him nervous, but it is no excuse. The Egyptian authorities

:41:39. > :41:42.should have good unit security that back captain could have said, I know

:41:43. > :41:48.the man is lying. That would be one heck of a call to make from a

:41:49. > :41:56.pilot's point of view. It would indeed but, on the other hand, if

:41:57. > :42:04.the person really does have a suicide belt on, and if they really

:42:05. > :42:09.are a dangerous terrorist, and IS type terrorist, I would rather

:42:10. > :42:17.suspect that they would not merely make a threat. I think they would

:42:18. > :42:22.show what they have got. There have been a lot of hijacks before 9/11,

:42:23. > :42:32.many wooden by precisely these means. The whole idea of the post

:42:33. > :42:43.9/11 system was that the regime on board changed completely. Pre-9/11,

:42:44. > :42:46.the captain accepted it and the problem was dealt with at the

:42:47. > :42:49.destination specified by the hijacker. Since that time, the

:42:50. > :42:56.regime on board has changed completely. If you go to the day

:42:57. > :43:01.that 9/11 happened, one of the four aircraft which was hijacked which

:43:02. > :43:07.did not hit its target, it was taken over by passengers who were picking

:43:08. > :43:11.up mobile telephone calls, they realise that the aircraft had been

:43:12. > :43:18.hijacked and they took over the hijacker. This situation has

:43:19. > :43:24.changed, but this is going back into hijacking Stone Age. The Egyptians

:43:25. > :43:30.are allowing this to happen. To stay with us, if you would, for a moment

:43:31. > :43:34.or two, because now we can talk to a correspondence at the Cyprus

:43:35. > :43:43.newsagency, she is at Larnaca airport. What is the latest that you

:43:44. > :43:49.are hearing? The latest is that the hijacker, from what we understand,

:43:50. > :43:59.is one person, has released the last five passengers or crew. He is on

:44:00. > :44:10.the playwright now. -- on the plane right now. We know he is speaking to

:44:11. > :44:20.people from the aviation, they are surveying his requests. What we are

:44:21. > :44:28.waiting now is to be briefed by the crisis sent, hopefully soon. Sorry,

:44:29. > :44:32.it is quite difficult to hear you, did you say the hijacker is the only

:44:33. > :44:39.person left on board? That is except the what we have, that is the latest

:44:40. > :44:50.information. So the pilot and the rest of the crew are off the plane?

:44:51. > :44:54.Exactly. The passenger was taken to the new airport -- the passengers

:44:55. > :45:03.were taken to. The airport is closed. All flights have been

:45:04. > :45:09.diverted to Paphos airport. There are no planes landing there. The

:45:10. > :45:13.situation is still fluid and the information coming through is very

:45:14. > :45:18.slow. Device I don't know if you have heard this, one French news

:45:19. > :45:22.agency has reported that the former wife of this hijacker is being

:45:23. > :45:28.brought to the airport, because the hijacker has demanded to see her?

:45:29. > :45:39.I have unconfirmed information that he was married to someone from the

:45:40. > :45:44.Larnaca district and they have children and that Middle East making

:45:45. > :45:46.some demands. But that is information also that is not

:45:47. > :45:52.confirmed. OK.

:45:53. > :45:58.Thank you very much. The image that you are seeing on screen right now

:45:59. > :46:03.is being shown by some broadcasters who say that this is the face of the

:46:04. > :46:09.hijacker, the man who forced this plane to divert. In the end, to

:46:10. > :46:13.Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. He has, we are told, demanded asylum and

:46:14. > :46:18.also it's being reported by various news agencies, demanded to see his

:46:19. > :46:23.estranged Cypriot wife. If that is indeed the face of the hijacker,

:46:24. > :46:28.then he's also said to be a Professor of Veterinary medicine

:46:29. > :46:35.from Alexandria university. You can see on the map there exactly where

:46:36. > :46:38.this plane was diverted from. It was an international flight, set off

:46:39. > :46:43.from Saudi Arabia, stopped off in Alexandria on its way to Cairo.

:46:44. > :46:45.According to our Cairo correspondent, the hijacker

:46:46. > :46:48.initially asked the pilot to redirect to Turkey. It was then that

:46:49. > :46:52.the pilot said there wasn't enough fuel for that so the plane

:46:53. > :46:57.eventually landed at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.

:46:58. > :47:01.We can talk now the BBC producer Rebecca Bailey at the airport and I

:47:02. > :47:04.think you have been talking to other passengers there. What have they

:47:05. > :47:09.been saying to you? Yes, that's right. It's a bit chaotic here

:47:10. > :47:12.because obviously any flight landing is being diverted so I spoke to one

:47:13. > :47:19.person waiting for his elderly mother to come from Jordan. He's

:47:20. > :47:25.waiting to find out whether she's been diverted to Paphos, the other

:47:26. > :47:30.airport on the island, and in that case if she is, the passengers also

:47:31. > :47:33.bussed over. At the moment, there doesn't seem to be very much

:47:34. > :47:37.information given out, other than what is on the arrival and departure

:47:38. > :47:44.boards. That is what people are going by. Are people aware of what's

:47:45. > :47:50.happened this morning? Yes. I think they are. News spread quickly over

:47:51. > :47:54.social media here. I was in the hairdressers when it happened and

:47:55. > :47:57.everyone got out their phones and were goings "oh my goodness this is

:47:58. > :48:04.happening" and were sharing information. There were a lot of

:48:05. > :48:08.unsubstantiated rumours flying around as there always are in these

:48:09. > :48:12.cases but people are aware of what is happening mainly through social

:48:13. > :48:21.media and social media here. Thank you very much.

:48:22. > :48:28.David, the security expert, is still with us. He's said it's a terrible

:48:29. > :48:33.breach of security and the most significant event effectively you

:48:34. > :48:37.were saying since 9/11 in terms of a breach of that security and the

:48:38. > :48:42.pilot should have made the call that the hijacker was perhaps not as

:48:43. > :48:46.dangerous as he said he was? Yes. Literally, if we are going back into

:48:47. > :48:53.what I just referred to as the security Stone Age, we have no faith

:48:54. > :48:57.in our systems whatever. We set up a system since 9/11 which has

:48:58. > :49:03.prevented hijacks. This is the first since 9/11. Anyone who wants to go

:49:04. > :49:06.somewhere which is not the destination planned, you have to

:49:07. > :49:09.send a message to the captain to say, I have a suicide belt, take me

:49:10. > :49:14.where I want to go. We have gone back to those days. We have to have

:49:15. > :49:19.a person that is, in this case Egypt, the last place it took off

:49:20. > :49:24.from was Alexandria, we have to have a system where the captain has

:49:25. > :49:27.complete confidence in the security people that somebody with a suicide

:49:28. > :49:35.belt could not possibly have got on board. So when the demand is made,

:49:36. > :49:39.the captain just says "no", the person who is claiming to have the

:49:40. > :49:45.vest is taken over by the crew with the help of the passengers. This is

:49:46. > :49:51.all post-9/11 stuff. That is what the drill is now. So in this

:49:52. > :49:56.particular case, that captain should simply have continued to his

:49:57. > :50:02.destination and landed safely and the person would have been

:50:03. > :50:07.demonstrated to have been a fraud, which is what we are now finding

:50:08. > :50:12.out. But I can't emphasise enough, if we have lost faith in the system,

:50:13. > :50:18.anybody who wants to go where he wants to go when he gets airborne

:50:19. > :50:23.just has to say, "I've got a bomb" and the captain says "fine, I'll

:50:24. > :50:25.take you where you want to go". I mean we have got back into the

:50:26. > :50:30.security Stone Age. Thank you very much for talking to

:50:31. > :50:33.us. Good morning, let's bring you

:50:34. > :50:37.up-to-date. The airline Egyptair says one of its flights has been

:50:38. > :50:42.hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus. The hijacker, who said he

:50:43. > :50:47.had a suicide vest, either on him or with him, is reported to have asked

:50:48. > :50:52.for asylum. The news agency Reuters is reporting the hijacker is a

:50:53. > :50:55.Professor of Veterinary medicine from Alexandria university. There

:50:56. > :50:58.are unconfirmed reports that all passengers and crew on board have

:50:59. > :51:03.now been released and that the hijacker is the only person who

:51:04. > :51:08.remains on board the plane. Five members of the crew have been

:51:09. > :51:12.seen coming off the aircraft. Earlier, Egyptair said four foreign

:51:13. > :51:17.passengers and the crew members remained on board.

:51:18. > :51:20.This unverified image is thought to be the man who hijacked the plane.

:51:21. > :51:25.It's being reported that he may have personal motives and that he has

:51:26. > :51:28.asked for a letter to be delivered to his estranged wife, thought to be

:51:29. > :51:32.living in Cyprus. The Foreign Office has said it's

:51:33. > :51:34.working to establish if there are any British people amongst the

:51:35. > :51:39.passengers. The flight originally took off from

:51:40. > :51:43.Saudi Arabia and stopped off in Alexandria, which is when it was

:51:44. > :51:48.taken over, as it tried to continue its journey to Cairo. It's on the

:51:49. > :51:53.ground at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. We also understand that flights to

:51:54. > :52:01.Larnaca are being diverted to Paphos. Let's talk to our

:52:02. > :52:08.correspondent again in Cairo, Ranyah Sabry. One news agency reporting

:52:09. > :52:12.that the hijacker's ex-wife is being brought to the airport. I don't know

:52:13. > :52:17.if you can confirm that? It's not possible to confirm that, especially

:52:18. > :52:22.from the Egyptian side. We are waiting for a press conference from

:52:23. > :52:27.the Aviation Authority to speak about this incident, but according

:52:28. > :52:30.to statements from Cyprus, the presidential statements there, the

:52:31. > :52:34.accident was not motivated by terrorism. Also, we have been

:52:35. > :52:38.receiving reports that all the passengers and the crew members have

:52:39. > :52:44.been off the plane and the hijacker remains on his own on the plane.

:52:45. > :52:49.Just like we have seen from the image, the man seems to be in his

:52:50. > :52:55.late 40s, early 50s, and has asked for a letter to be delivered to his

:52:56. > :53:00.ex-wife who reportedly lives in Cyprus. Egyptair has confirmed that

:53:01. > :53:04.the flight carried a number of foreign passengers from different

:53:05. > :53:09.countries, but it was not known the four who remained until the end

:53:10. > :53:17.which nationality were they. Do stay with us for a moment if you

:53:18. > :53:21.can. I'm told we can talk to - actually let me bring you this from

:53:22. > :53:28.the Cyprus President who has commented on the hijacking. He said;

:53:29. > :53:32.it's all to do with a woman. Addressing reporters while visiting

:53:33. > :53:37.the European Parliament. The Cypriot leader has ruled out terrorism being

:53:38. > :53:41.behind the hijacking confirming that it's been instigated by a lovesick

:53:42. > :53:44.man bent on reunited with his former Cypriot wife. According to the

:53:45. > :53:54.Cypriot President, it's all to do with a woman, we are doing

:53:55. > :53:57.everything to release the hostages. Ranyah, we've already made it clear

:53:58. > :54:04.that all of the passengers now and the crew are released? Yes, that is

:54:05. > :54:10.what we have at the moment. After about five very tense hours for the

:54:11. > :54:15.passengers and for people worldwide watching this incident, it turns out

:54:16. > :54:21.to be down to this one woman and this lovesick man who is attempting

:54:22. > :54:25.to chase her. Obviously wanting to make himself known, seen and heard.

:54:26. > :54:29.He's managed to do that as we all currently breathe a sigh of relief

:54:30. > :54:34.waiting for more details to come through. But for now it's not a

:54:35. > :54:39.terrorist motivated attack or incident and all the passengers and

:54:40. > :54:43.crew are safe. We are waiting from the statement from the Ministry of

:54:44. > :54:47.Aviation in Egypt, expected at the top of the hour.

:54:48. > :54:50.We'll obviously bring that to our audience live as soon as that

:54:51. > :54:55.begins. If it's true that it is, according to the Cyprus President, a

:54:56. > :55:00.lovesick man attempting to get the attention of his estranged partner,

:55:01. > :55:05.then it's an absolutely extraordinary and rather Deaning

:55:06. > :55:08.rows way of going about it? -- dangerous way of going about it? I

:55:09. > :55:12.would agree and I believe this man will be subject to a number of

:55:13. > :55:18.checks for mental health once this is all over because the amount of

:55:19. > :55:23.tension, the amount of danger he put everybody through is quite

:55:24. > :55:28.remarkable, just to reach his goal or his motive and be reunited with

:55:29. > :55:33.his wife in Cyprus. We still don't know if the wife is on her way to

:55:34. > :55:40.the airport, as some Cypriot media sources have been claiming, that

:55:41. > :55:41.remains to be seen. It turned out to be a difficult morning. Thank you

:55:42. > :55:52.very much. As Ranyah said, we are expecting a

:55:53. > :55:57.news conference by Egyptian officials in possibly the next five

:55:58. > :55:58.to ten minutes or so. As soon as that begins, we'll bring that to you

:55:59. > :56:12.live. Good morning, you are watching a BBC

:56:13. > :56:25.News Special with the latest on the hijacked Egyptian plane forced to

:56:26. > :56:33.land at Cyprus. Davon, you were a passenger waiting to board a plane,

:56:34. > :56:37.tell us what you saw? I saw the passengers being led off, which is

:56:38. > :56:41.great news. I just heard that the passengers and crew are all released

:56:42. > :56:46.which is great news. So the atmosphere now at the airport

:56:47. > :56:56.presumably pretty calm? There is a sense of relief. Everybody is glad

:56:57. > :57:00.the crew and passengers are safe. Everybody is glad it was a lovesick

:57:01. > :57:08.man and not a terrorist, could have been worse.

:57:09. > :57:14.Thank you very much. Let's talk now to Nicholas Zanetos, a journalist in

:57:15. > :57:18.Cyprus who is at the airport. Thank you for talking to us. Are you

:57:19. > :57:22.hearing the hijacker's estranged partner is on her way to the

:57:23. > :57:30.airport? The information that I'm getting right now is that the

:57:31. > :57:39.passenger is at the airport and police sources told me five minutes

:57:40. > :57:44.ago that this man has four children with this woman and this is getting

:57:45. > :57:53.more and more interesting. We also had some statement from the

:57:54. > :57:56.President whoa said, answering a question, that everything happened

:57:57. > :58:04.is for a woman. So this is pretty much the story right now. I'm 800

:58:05. > :58:09.metres from the airplane. We seen half an hour ago three persons

:58:10. > :58:18.coming out of the aircraft and they were carried by a bus to the old

:58:19. > :58:22.part of the airport. We are in the hold and we expect a move by the

:58:23. > :58:27.police as soon as possible. I don't know if you heard that the

:58:28. > :58:34.passenger that was speaking to me before we came to you, an enormous

:58:35. > :58:40.sense of relief at the airport? That is right. There is some relief from

:58:41. > :58:46.the point of view that we are not dealing with a terrorist attack.

:58:47. > :58:52.That is pretty much the view right now.

:58:53. > :58:57.OK. What is the reaction if it's true that this is a lovesick man

:58:58. > :59:02.wanting to attract the attention of his ex-partner. What is the reaction

:59:03. > :59:11.to that? People are saying this is very strange. I mean, the amount of

:59:12. > :59:16.attention that he chose to raise about this incident, it's pretty

:59:17. > :59:21.much shocking the fact that he hijacked a plane to grab the

:59:22. > :59:27.attention of his partner. This is very strange, yes. There will still

:59:28. > :59:37.be questions to be asked of security systems in place, particularly at

:59:38. > :59:41.Egyptair lines and Alexandria Airport? Yes, exactly, we are

:59:42. > :59:48.awaiting those answers as well. We are expecting a news conference are

:59:49. > :59:55.we? Yes, we are expecting a news conference in half an hour

:59:56. > :00:01.approximately. The press officer is making some statements right now

:00:02. > :00:02.actually. It will be interesting to hear what she says.

:00:03. > :00:12.Thank you very much. Hello, it's Tuesday,

:00:13. > :00:14.it's ten o'clock. I'm Victoria Derbyshire,

:00:15. > :00:17.welcome to the programme if you've Breaking news this morning -

:00:18. > :00:27.an Egyptair passenger plane has All the passengers on Egyptian plane

:00:28. > :00:33.that was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus have been released. The

:00:34. > :00:37.hijacker is believed to have said he was carrying explosives and is

:00:38. > :00:42.reported to have asked for asylum and demanded to see his Cypriot

:00:43. > :00:49.ex-wife. Up to eight British people were thought to have been on board.

:00:50. > :00:51.We will bring you the latest. This unverified image is thought to

:00:52. > :01:05.be the man who hijacked the plane. Most of the passengers on board the

:01:06. > :01:09.hijacked Egyptair plane which was forced to land in Cyprus have been

:01:10. > :01:13.freed. It is reported that the hijacker said he had a suicide vest

:01:14. > :01:20.on all with him and had been asking for asylum. The Reuters newsagency

:01:21. > :01:24.says the hijacker is a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria

:01:25. > :01:27.University. The UK is investigating reports that

:01:28. > :01:33.three British people were on board a handful of people -- were among a

:01:34. > :01:36.handful of people left on board the plane, although we have now been

:01:37. > :01:39.told there is nobody at all left on board except for the hijacker

:01:40. > :01:42.himself. This unverified image is thought to

:01:43. > :01:47.be the hijacker. It has been reported that he may have personal

:01:48. > :01:50.image and has asked for a letter to be delivered to his extremist right,

:01:51. > :01:59.who is thought to be living in Cyprus. -- delivered to his exchange

:02:00. > :02:04.life. -- estranged wife. The aeroplane is now on the ground

:02:05. > :02:07.at Larnaca airport, having been taken over at Alexandria. We

:02:08. > :02:11.understand that flights from Larnaca are being diverted to Paphos.

:02:12. > :02:14.Our correspondent in Cairo is Ranyah Sabry.

:02:15. > :02:21.She has been keeping us up to date with the latest. What do we know?

:02:22. > :02:25.The passengers and crew on board the plane are safe in the airport, they

:02:26. > :02:30.have left the airport. The hijacker remains on the plane on his own. A

:02:31. > :02:35.huge sigh of relief at the airport in Larnaca. We know that the

:02:36. > :02:39.hijacker wanted to meet his ex-wife who resides in Cyprus, we believe

:02:40. > :02:45.she is on our way to the airport or has maybe arrived by now. Any

:02:46. > :02:50.terrorist motivations have been ruled out, it is not a terrorist

:02:51. > :02:56.attack and not motivated by any ideological or political reasons, it

:02:57. > :03:01.is as simple as a love stricken man searching for the love of his life,

:03:02. > :03:08.who resides in Cyprus and who is on her way to the airport to meet her

:03:09. > :03:11.ex-husband. What sort of questions will be asked of Egyptian security

:03:12. > :03:16.as a result of what has happened this morning? First it has to be

:03:17. > :03:23.established whether this man got on the plane in Saudi Arabia or in

:03:24. > :03:28.Egypt's Alexandria airport. It is not clear. It is not clear either

:03:29. > :03:32.whether he was in hold of any weapon or arms. The pilot reported that the

:03:33. > :03:37.passenger informed him he was in hold of an explosive belt, whether

:03:38. > :03:42.it was on him or in his luggage was not clear. Nobody confirmed that the

:03:43. > :03:46.man was in hold of a weapon, he could have been bluffing all along,

:03:47. > :03:50.he could have been claiming to be in hold of arms and weapons, the

:03:51. > :03:56.weapons could be as light as a knife or as huge as a suicide or explosive

:03:57. > :04:02.belt. It is not clear, that is up to investigations both, I believe, by

:04:03. > :04:07.the Egyptian authorities, the Saudi authorities and aviation security

:04:08. > :04:09.experts who would be pretty interested in this incident,

:04:10. > :04:14.especially that hijacking planes is something that has not happened

:04:15. > :04:17.worldwide for quite some time, it is a revival of something that has been

:04:18. > :04:22.dormant for decades and needs to be looked into thoroughly before

:04:23. > :04:27.decisions are made or judgments are made.

:04:28. > :04:31.I will just pause for a moment to show the audience the latest

:04:32. > :04:37.pictures that we have, which apparently show members of the crew

:04:38. > :04:43.getting off the hijacked plane. Any second now, hopefully. Members of

:04:44. > :04:48.the crew recently getting off the plane, along with most of the rest

:04:49. > :04:53.of the passengers. We will just have a look at that now. That looks like

:04:54. > :04:56.a crew member on their phone as they emerge from the aircraft and move

:04:57. > :05:15.down the steps. For those on board, Ranyah, this Mr

:05:16. > :05:21.been absolutely terrifying? It was supposed to be very terrifying. --

:05:22. > :05:24.this must have been absolutely terrifying? But for the images that

:05:25. > :05:30.we have seen the passengers getting onto the bus, they seemed calm and

:05:31. > :05:35.composed, nobody was hurrying, I am sure they were relieved but it did

:05:36. > :05:40.seem like they were ex-the rinsing stressful times on the plane. --

:05:41. > :05:46.experiencing stressful times. And at Housesteads saw them off, she made

:05:47. > :05:51.sure everyone left, she did not show signs of tension, try to join them

:05:52. > :05:55.or run with them, she calmly looked at them, made sure everybody was

:05:56. > :05:59.safe and on the bus and then re-entered the plane, which gives an

:06:00. > :06:04.impression that she was quite composed and that matters inside the

:06:05. > :06:10.plane were not as tense as one would tend to believe in such a situation

:06:11. > :06:16.they hijacked a plane. Just to let you know, Ranyah, just coming into

:06:17. > :06:27.us, the reported hijacker of the plane denies involvement. In remarks

:06:28. > :06:29.to BBC Arabic, the veterinary professor at the University of

:06:30. > :06:35.Alexandria said he was a passenger on the plane and was evacuated from

:06:36. > :06:48.it, along with other passengers at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. So this

:06:49. > :06:53.man, Ibrahimovic, -- this man, Ibrahim, said he was a passenger on

:06:54. > :06:56.the plane, he did not attempt to hijack it and was released from the

:06:57. > :07:02.plane along with various other passengers. The name was circulated

:07:03. > :07:07.in Egyptian media as the person who was the hijacker. We said earlier

:07:08. > :07:11.that he was a professor of veterinary medicine at Alexandria

:07:12. > :07:16.University. This is not correct, this man was just a passenger. The

:07:17. > :07:23.hijacker was supposedly identified by his seat on the plane, she is

:07:24. > :07:31.believed to have been 38K, but it got link to this gentleman, who says

:07:32. > :07:36.he was just a passenger. We are back to square one, we do not know who

:07:37. > :07:40.the hijacker is, except that he is Egyptian and his wife lives in

:07:41. > :07:44.Cyprus, he has sent her a letter already and asked to meet her. These

:07:45. > :07:49.pieces of information are the ones that we know and are sure of, but

:07:50. > :07:54.the exact name and age remains to be seen. It is not the professor of

:07:55. > :07:58.veterinary medicine at Alexandria University, for the time being.

:07:59. > :08:02.Let's hear from the Cypriot president, who has ruled out

:08:03. > :08:08.terrorism being behind the hijacking. We can hear from him now.

:08:09. > :08:17.It seems that at least 49 of the passengers have been released. This

:08:18. > :08:23.is (INAUDIBLE) , I have to say. We are doing our

:08:24. > :08:31.utmost in order for everyone to be released safe and to give an end to

:08:32. > :08:35.this unprecedented... In any case, it is not something which has to do

:08:36. > :08:42.with terrorism. Do you know what I mean?

:08:43. > :08:47.LAUGHTER REPORTER: Can you confirm a debit

:08:48. > :08:54.thing was about a woman? Though Blau always there is a woman!

:08:55. > :09:00.LAUGHTER STUDIO: A couple of moments of

:09:01. > :09:06.levity, always there is a woman involved. We are awaiting a news

:09:07. > :09:10.conference in Cairo. You can see them getting ready. The Egyptian

:09:11. > :09:14.civil aviation ministry is about to hold a news conference into the

:09:15. > :09:19.Egyptair plane that was hijacked, so many more details to come, clearly,

:09:20. > :09:22.so many questions that the journalists will want to ask the

:09:23. > :09:28.officials. As soon as it begins we will bring it to you live.

:09:29. > :09:34.Earlier I spoke to Matthew Finn, and aviation security expert. It is a

:09:35. > :09:40.very stressful situation. I come back to the crew, who will hopefully

:09:41. > :09:45.remember their training, they are well trained and are an asset in

:09:46. > :09:47.situations like this. They will be keeping communication lines going,

:09:48. > :09:53.hopefully providing a buffer between the hijacker and the passengers,

:09:54. > :09:57.continuing in their duty of care to look after the safety and well-being

:09:58. > :10:01.of passengers so there is no direct interaction between the hijacker and

:10:02. > :10:05.the passengers themselves. Given the discussion this morning about

:10:06. > :10:09.nationality, it was possibly the crew that had to get the travel

:10:10. > :10:14.document to reveal who was from which country around the world,

:10:15. > :10:18.providing basic information and water, all of these things are

:10:19. > :10:23.really important to keep the situation under control and keep

:10:24. > :10:27.communication flowing around the aircraft and with people on the

:10:28. > :10:31.ground. Clearly negotiations must have been going on earlier in order

:10:32. > :10:39.to release those passengers who are Egyptian? About absolutely even to

:10:40. > :10:44.get the stairs to the aircraft. It would have required a dialogue to be

:10:45. > :10:48.established. It is good news. As soon as there is communication there

:10:49. > :10:51.is the opportunity to affect an outcome and start mediation and

:10:52. > :10:57.negotiation. It is all very positive, as is the release of the

:10:58. > :11:00.majority of passengers, and it was reassuring to see the calm manner in

:11:01. > :11:04.which they were released from the aircraft. Obviously our attention

:11:05. > :11:11.now remains on those passengers and crew who remain in the aircraft and

:11:12. > :11:15.understanding that the slides of communication remain open, and a

:11:16. > :11:20.dialogue can continue to be established to effect a safe outcome

:11:21. > :11:29.for everybody involved. Aviation security expert Matthew Finn.

:11:30. > :11:43.Let's talk again to the British journalist for the Times newspaper

:11:44. > :11:50.based in Cyprus, Michael Theodulou. What is the question you would need

:11:51. > :11:55.answering this stage? One to confirm that all the passengers had been

:11:56. > :12:00.released, or most of them were, and that his motives are personal, as is

:12:01. > :12:09.reported by the Cypriot media, and the hijacking is not part -- the

:12:10. > :12:15.hijacker is not part of a terrorist group with a terrorist profile. Did

:12:16. > :12:18.he have explosives or not? There was an initial report that he had a

:12:19. > :12:23.suicide belt, but now the reports are that he does not have

:12:24. > :12:28.explosives. We spoke to another aviation expert earlier who said

:12:29. > :12:33.that a pilot should have confidence in his security systems on the

:12:34. > :12:39.ground to know immediately whether a passenger saying they have a suicide

:12:40. > :12:45.vest is telling the truth or not. Yes, indeed, but at the same time I

:12:46. > :12:49.assume that if a pilot is facing a threat by a man who seems to have

:12:50. > :12:53.something, he might have been pretending to have his finger on a

:12:54. > :13:01.detonation button, he would not take any risks. I wonder if someone had,

:13:02. > :13:05.in fact, got some explosive on. All pilots are trained in this. The

:13:06. > :13:14.incident would have raised issues about security at airports following

:13:15. > :13:18.the other incident last year. Investigations into what has

:13:19. > :13:23.happened are clearly at a very, very early stage, and we know little

:13:24. > :13:25.about the hijacker. We certainly don't have very much confirmed

:13:26. > :13:35.information about this particular hijacker. But people will have to

:13:36. > :13:39.look into his background, potentially the history of his

:13:40. > :13:43.mental health, why he thought this was the right thing to do to try to

:13:44. > :13:52.draw the attention of his strange partner? It is a very bizarre

:13:53. > :13:59.incident. I think it will be sorted fairly quickly, he is not placing

:14:00. > :14:05.any demands that would be hard for any officials here or wrought to try

:14:06. > :14:12.to meet. He apparently just wants to see his ex-wife, who is reportedly a

:14:13. > :14:17.Cypriot here. He dropped off a letter in Arabic on the tarmac

:14:18. > :14:22.apparently addressed to her. Apparently she is being taken to the

:14:23. > :14:27.airport in case he wants to see her. Maybe he is just a man in a very bad

:14:28. > :14:34.personal situation who has made a very bad, reckless decision. That

:14:35. > :14:38.will become clear in time once more and needed things have been sorted

:14:39. > :14:42.out, like checking there are no explosives on board and everybody is

:14:43. > :14:47.safe. Bearing in mind that checking for explosives is yet to happen,

:14:48. > :14:51.hearing the president of Cyprus and the president of the European

:14:52. > :14:55.Parliament both joking, as we did a few moments ago, about the hijacked,

:14:56. > :14:59.Parliament both joking, as we did a suggesting it was all about a woman

:15:00. > :15:07.and was not a serious threat, I wonder if people will think it's

:15:08. > :15:13.inappropriate this stage? I have not seen the remarks yet, but a report

:15:14. > :15:18.said he said it was not really a terrorist incident. Clearly it would

:15:19. > :15:24.have terrorised everybody on board the plane, it is a serials incident,

:15:25. > :15:27.but if the president had information that he was not making terror

:15:28. > :15:34.related demands, it would have been a relief to the Cypriot authorities.

:15:35. > :15:39.So apparently the situation will be diffused soon.

:15:40. > :15:46.I'm reading comments from a man called Ibrahim who was named

:15:47. > :15:52.incorrectly earlier as the hijacker, named by some Egyptian media outlets

:15:53. > :15:56.as a Professor of Veterinary medicine from Alexandria university.

:15:57. > :16:01.He's now said, I was not the hijacker, I was simply a personing

:16:02. > :16:03.on that plane and was released alongside other passengers and had

:16:04. > :16:09.absolutely nothing to do with hijacking the plane. He's also

:16:10. > :16:14.described what happened on the plane, and this has been translated

:16:15. > :16:19.for us. We did not know what was going on, we got on board the plane

:16:20. > :16:24.and were surprised the crew took all our passports which is unusual for a

:16:25. > :16:29.domestic flight. After a while, we realised the altitude was getting

:16:30. > :16:33.higher. Then we knew we were heading to Cyprus. At first, the crew told

:16:34. > :16:38.us there was a problem with the plane and only later did we know it

:16:39. > :16:45.was hijacked. Those are comments from one of the passengers on the

:16:46. > :16:53.plane, Dr Ibrahim Samahar named by some media outlets as being the

:16:54. > :16:56.hijacker. He says absolutely not. Clearly, there was confusion early

:16:57. > :17:04.on, on that plane, when it was diverted? There was. The fact that

:17:05. > :17:08.he was mistakenly named shows that we should take the reports with some

:17:09. > :17:11.caution at this time. There have been very few official statements

:17:12. > :17:15.from the Cypriots or the Egyptian authorities about this. In the

:17:16. > :17:19.absence of that, and given the fact people have mobile phones now and

:17:20. > :17:29.social media, a lot of reports circulate that could be incorrect.

:17:30. > :17:32.The other thing the passengers didn't apparently realise, it seemed

:17:33. > :17:36.the pilot and crew were doing a fairly good job of trying to keep

:17:37. > :17:38.the passengers from panicking and knowing the possible peril that they

:17:39. > :17:48.faced. Thank you very much. Earlier, we

:17:49. > :17:52.spoke to a Cypriot correspondent at longer coo Airport. She explained

:17:53. > :18:01.that the hijacker was thought to be the only personal left on board the

:18:02. > :18:04.plane. The latest is that the hijacker, from what we understand,

:18:05. > :18:10.is completely by himself on the plane. They let off the last five

:18:11. > :18:17.passengers of crew from what we could see. He is on the plane right

:18:18. > :18:24.now. What we know is that he is talking to the Civil Aviation

:18:25. > :18:32.Authority and they are talking about his requests of whatever he's

:18:33. > :18:36.asking, to the crisis centre, which Larnaca Airport -- at Larnaca

:18:37. > :18:43.Airport. We are waiting to be briefed by the crisis centre,

:18:44. > :18:48.hopefully soon. It's quite difficult to hear you, but did you say the

:18:49. > :18:53.hijacker is the only person left on board or did I mishear you. Yes.

:18:54. > :18:57.That is exactly what we have, that is the latest information that we

:18:58. > :19:04.have. So the pilot and the rest of the crew are off the plane? Off the

:19:05. > :19:11.plane, exactly. The passengers were taken to the new airport at the

:19:12. > :19:21.arrivals. The airport is closed. All planes have been diverted to Paphos

:19:22. > :19:25.Airport and there are basically no planes landing or departing here.

:19:26. > :19:30.The situation is still fluid and the information that is coming through

:19:31. > :19:34.is very slow. I don't know if you have heard this, but it's being

:19:35. > :19:39.reported by one French news agency, that the ex-wife of this hijacker is

:19:40. > :19:46.being brought to the airport because the hijacker has demanded to see

:19:47. > :19:54.her? I have information but it's unconfirmed, that he was married to

:19:55. > :20:03.someone from the Larnaca district and they have four children and that

:20:04. > :20:15.he is making some demands. That is information that is also not

:20:16. > :20:17.confirmed. We are expecting a news conference from Cairo where the

:20:18. > :20:20.Civil Aviation Authority is expecting to hold a news conference.

:20:21. > :20:25.We are not sure when but any time soon. As soon as it happens we'll

:20:26. > :20:32.bring you that live. Much more detail after the Egyptair lane was

:20:33. > :20:37.hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus -- Egypt airline plane was

:20:38. > :20:44.hijacked and forced to land. Jonny Dymond is still with us. Give us the

:20:45. > :20:49.background? This plane came from Saudi Arabia, stopped in Alexandria

:20:50. > :20:52.then was many don't go to Cairo. The crew found out that one passenger

:20:53. > :21:00.was carrying something that looked very much like a suicide belt or a

:21:01. > :21:03.belt strapped with explosives. The passenger told the crew that he

:21:04. > :21:08.wanted to change the route of the plane and at this point we enter the

:21:09. > :21:11.world of speculation... I'm going to pause for a second because I think

:21:12. > :21:24.the news conference is about to start.

:21:25. > :21:30.There is some questions that I cannance and some information I can

:21:31. > :21:33.give -- can answer and some information I can give you. We have

:21:34. > :21:38.other information but I will not divulge it at the moment. We are

:21:39. > :21:43.talking about the security situation and we cannot give information that

:21:44. > :21:54.will represent danger because the time is not right what has happened

:21:55. > :22:06.today quickly. This morning at 6. 50 local time the captain of the plane

:22:07. > :22:14.MS181, which should have taken off from towards Cairo, at 6. 06, it did

:22:15. > :22:19.in fact take off at 6. 30. It was an Airbus A 320. It was hijacked and we

:22:20. > :22:22.were informed there was a passenger with a suicide belt who had asked

:22:23. > :22:42.that the plane be diverted. It was decided it would land in

:22:43. > :22:47.Cyprus. There are various passengers from various nationalities,

:22:48. > :22:50.including an Egyptian who boarded the plane from Alexandria to Cairo

:22:51. > :22:58.and others would go in further. At 7. 05, we have started to deal with

:22:59. > :23:02.the situation in the form of managing the crisis through the

:23:03. > :23:14.crisis centre present at this aviation centre. We can say the

:23:15. > :23:18.following. At 7. 50, the plane landed at Larnaca Airport and then

:23:19. > :23:22.various negotiations started with the high St James' Park. According

:23:23. > :23:32.to our information and information is from a reliable source --

:23:33. > :23:38.negotiations started with the hijacker. According to our

:23:39. > :23:43.information, we don't know whether the suicide belt was virtual or real

:23:44. > :23:48.but we were dealing with the situation as it represented a

:23:49. > :23:54.danger. Ongoing negotiations with the hijacker and the situation at

:23:55. > :24:01.the plane now. There are seven people still inside the plane, the

:24:02. > :24:04.captain and his aid, one woman still with us, one security officer and

:24:05. > :24:20.three passengers. I can't talk about the nationalities

:24:21. > :24:23.at this stage. This is a security situation and please forgive me

:24:24. > :24:35.because I will not give you the nationalities at this stage. There

:24:36. > :24:49.is contradiction. The numbers I have in my possession, I will let you

:24:50. > :25:04.know. I'm not sure about the suicide belt. We are dealing with the

:25:05. > :25:09.situation as if it's a real one. On the other hand, I would like to add

:25:10. > :25:16.that our call centre and through the crisis centre, we have contacted the

:25:17. > :25:20.families of the passengers and the passengers inside Cyprus, the plane

:25:21. > :25:26.will be leaving within an hour flying to Larnaca. We were not going

:25:27. > :25:32.to wait until 1600, we'll send a plane to get our passengers as soon

:25:33. > :25:37.as possible. It will depart at 12. 30 local time.

:25:38. > :26:04.I cannot give you the nationalities. Three passengers still on board the

:26:05. > :26:07.plane. Are you dealing with the situation alone or with the Cypriot

:26:08. > :26:20.authorities? Again, there is nothing I can give you. I am dealing with

:26:21. > :26:28.the situation has it is. The crew, captain and copilot and the security

:26:29. > :26:29.officer must deal with this. Three passengers are still inside the

:26:30. > :26:41.plane. There is more than one party dealing

:26:42. > :26:52.with the conducting of the negotiations. We have been

:26:53. > :26:56.reassuring people, we are dealing with people that are our brothers

:26:57. > :27:05.and sons, we are eager that their security is our priority. But

:27:06. > :27:08.dealing with these people, our colleagues are dealing with it and

:27:09. > :27:10.that has been done at the appropriate level.

:27:11. > :27:31.I will carry on this side. Up to now, I cannot say that there

:27:32. > :27:36.are any demands from the hijackers. There are negotiations ongoing and

:27:37. > :27:39.with the authorities on site so that we can determine what demands there

:27:40. > :27:48.are. Please do not listen to rumours that

:27:49. > :27:56.there are demands also. Up to now, we have not heard any real demands

:27:57. > :28:00.that we can state and announce to you.

:28:01. > :28:13.Yes. We have information but I'm not going to divulge it.

:28:14. > :28:17.Nobody can tell for sure. Nobody can say how long the negotiations will

:28:18. > :28:26.take. Our fundamental issue is our people on board. Our sons on board,

:28:27. > :28:30.our passengers, their safety. We'll carry on negotiating to make sure

:28:31. > :28:35.safety is paramount using all the means. Negotiations can take as long

:28:36. > :28:41.as possible. Experts are dealing with the situation, that is their

:28:42. > :28:44.job, please give them enough time and no conflicting statements so

:28:45. > :29:01.that they can carry out their work as best as possible.

:29:02. > :29:22.I haven't said that. I have no other information.

:29:23. > :29:31.This is not the time to talk about this. Carry on, carry on. Carry on.

:29:32. > :29:39.Is there any information about the hijacker?

:29:40. > :30:12.TRANSLATION: This issue, you should understand, there are things we

:30:13. > :30:16.cannot say. Running and chasing information should not affect our

:30:17. > :30:23.instinct. Please leave others to carry out their job and their work

:30:24. > :30:28.calmly, negotiating. We cannot broadcast information that might

:30:29. > :30:32.influence the final result of the negotiation. Once we are sure about

:30:33. > :30:37.the safety of the people, we will announce all the information

:30:38. > :30:44.available. I will not give you names. Whoever mentions names should

:30:45. > :30:49.shoulder the responsibility is. I would like to say that we are not

:30:50. > :31:07.going to delve into names. I would like to keep saying what I

:31:08. > :31:15.said, there will be surprises, but I will not pre-empt the situation.

:31:16. > :31:21.What would benefit? Please, let us concentrate on the safety of the

:31:22. > :31:28.people and leave time and space to our negotiators to deal with the

:31:29. > :31:32.situation. Statements and throwing names here and there and an official

:31:33. > :31:35.statements do not serve our work, which is under way. -- and

:31:36. > :31:48.unofficial statements. Of course, there are challenges

:31:49. > :31:53.everywhere, and it is normal. There are security measures. When

:31:54. > :31:58.something like this happens, every security quarter would make sure

:31:59. > :32:04.what has happened is and how their work is contacted. But that doesn't

:32:05. > :32:05.mean that if I arrested one person who is suspicious, the story ends

:32:06. > :32:30.there. TRANSLATION: Please, one at a time,

:32:31. > :32:37.please, just one question at a time. This is not my decision. This is a

:32:38. > :32:39.decision that would taken alongside those who are negotiating with the

:32:40. > :32:54.hijacker. -- that would be taken. We will leave that to the security

:32:55. > :33:01.authorities to deal with this situation.

:33:02. > :33:04.I have the nationalities of the foreign travellers, but I will not

:33:05. > :33:27.announce them here. Can you say it again? REPORTER: I

:33:28. > :33:36.would like to ask about the security checks at Alexandria airport. How

:33:37. > :33:44.was he armed? If you are talking about the security procedure at the

:33:45. > :33:52.Alexandria airport, we don't know yet how he got the equipment he has,

:33:53. > :34:00.and we don't know whether it is real or not. This will come as an outcome

:34:01. > :34:04.of the investigation we are after. The reality is that we have a

:34:05. > :34:11.hijacker on board a plane, we are not sure whether what he has is a

:34:12. > :34:15.true threat to the aircraft, but we are dealing with it as a real

:34:16. > :34:19.threat, because we cannot take any risks except dealing with it as a

:34:20. > :34:48.serious situation. REPORTER: TRANSLATION: How did he

:34:49. > :34:58.get access to the plane, knowing he could have had a Swiss belt, and

:34:59. > :35:02.there has been an agreement signed with a security company to oversee

:35:03. > :35:08.the security at the airport? TRANSLATION: Do you really think

:35:09. > :35:13.this is the time to talk about other issues, complex issues? This is not

:35:14. > :35:18.the time, please. Let us deal with a crisis like we are doing, but then

:35:19. > :35:20.we will go into details at a later stage. We have other pressing

:35:21. > :35:36.matters that we have to do. The number of passengers on board,

:35:37. > :35:48.we do have the up to date information.

:35:49. > :35:55.TRANSLATION: I said to you, I cannot mention the name of the hijacker, I

:35:56. > :36:01.cannot name the nationalities of the passengers until we are 100% sure.

:36:02. > :36:09.As long as we are not sure, we cannot say anything else. I didn't

:36:10. > :36:15.say that, what I am saying is that I am not going to go into the names

:36:16. > :36:18.until we have confirmed information about the name, and we will choose

:36:19. > :36:25.the right time to announce the names. I would like to ask you to

:36:26. > :36:28.look into the field, that we are in a crisis and dealing with a crisis

:36:29. > :36:39.is different to dealing with matters in a normal time. Yes, go ahead,

:36:40. > :36:53.Sir?. REPORTER: The Egyptian government

:36:54. > :37:00.retained one company in December or January to look at airport security

:37:01. > :37:02.in Egypt. To reassure, primarily, the Egyptian traveller, but also

:37:03. > :37:11.foreign travellers and to arrest will stop I believe that this report

:37:12. > :37:16.was released confidentially to you and to senior people in ejection

:37:17. > :37:22.security a month or so ago. The British extended their travel

:37:23. > :37:26.suspension to Sharm el-Sheikh, and now we have the civil aviation

:37:27. > :37:34.incident. My question is this, can you reassure bursty Egyptian people

:37:35. > :37:43.that civil aviation is hijacker free here? This guy did get on the plane.

:37:44. > :37:47.And are you sure that, having rejected a Russian offer to look at

:37:48. > :37:50.security on their planes, what can you tell us about the findings of

:37:51. > :37:55.this report? Number one, I have not seen any

:37:56. > :38:00.reports so far, they have not submitted their final report yet.

:38:01. > :38:03.But Egyptian security and Egyptian airport security is being monitored

:38:04. > :38:09.by different authorities. Our security teams were in very close

:38:10. > :38:15.contact with these authorities addressing the observations and

:38:16. > :38:19.findings they had. So far, we have been able to successfully rectify

:38:20. > :38:23.this. However, you may ask this question, and I think it is a good

:38:24. > :38:28.question, but let's address this after we finalise the incident and

:38:29. > :38:31.make sure that our people are safe, and after we investigate how this

:38:32. > :38:36.passenger was able to get whatever it with that he has on board. I

:38:37. > :38:45.can't make any statements now, because we haven't completed the

:38:46. > :38:48.security investigation. REPORTER: I appreciate that, could you give us

:38:49. > :38:56.the accounts in Europe that you provided to (INAUDIBLE)

:38:57. > :39:00.? Let me finish in Arabic, then I will do it in English. Can I do

:39:01. > :39:32.that? TRANSLATION: I will not go into

:39:33. > :39:36.details. The plane is in Cyprus. I would like to deal with the

:39:37. > :39:49.situation as it is. Two more questions, because I need to leave.

:39:50. > :39:50.I will announce this when we have the confirmed information and full

:39:51. > :40:21.information. There was an (INAUDIBLE)

:40:22. > :40:27.Broadcast by most news agencies and channels, what can you tell us about

:40:28. > :40:30.it? TRANSLATION: What you have just said

:40:31. > :40:36.confirms why I do not want to mention names until investigations

:40:37. > :40:47.are completed. Please just allow me that.

:40:48. > :40:52.TRANSLATION: Yes, this man has been subjected to this because there are

:40:53. > :41:07.colleagues who get their information from unconfirmed sources. They have

:41:08. > :41:14.broadcast him. Can I just finish, please?

:41:15. > :41:20.I am here so I can provide you with the final information, which we can

:41:21. > :41:29.use to deal with the situation as it is. I want the final information.

:41:30. > :41:37.The names, we do not have any names at the moment.

:41:38. > :41:41.If we can deny it, we would have done so, but let us compete our

:41:42. > :41:49.investigation and the negotiations. We will issue a statement at the

:41:50. > :42:26.right time about the names. REPORTER: TRANSLATION: Why did the

:42:27. > :42:32.captain yield for that amount of the alleged hijacker? TRANSLATION: We

:42:33. > :42:37.will look into this issue when we sit around with our cap on and we

:42:38. > :42:45.get all the information from him. -- with our captain. Excuse me, I need

:42:46. > :42:52.to leave. I am very sorry. Because we have other things to do. So we

:42:53. > :43:06.will provide you... Everybody knows our website, Egyptian air, and there

:43:07. > :43:08.will be preliminary statement that will inform you about the

:43:09. > :43:13.development of the situation, thank you.

:43:14. > :43:16.So that news conference from Egypt is my Chris Liddle aviation

:43:17. > :43:20.minister, the most important thing to draw from it is that the

:43:21. > :43:24.situation involving the hijacked plane is ongoing, there are seven

:43:25. > :43:27.people, including three passengers, still on board, completely

:43:28. > :43:32.contradicting earlier reports which said everyone had been released,

:43:33. > :43:36.Jonny Diamond? It looked like all the passengers and some of the crew

:43:37. > :43:42.had been released, but the minister was very clear, seven people on

:43:43. > :43:45.board, three passengers, two... I think the captain, the co-pilot, a

:43:46. > :43:52.stewardess and the security officer were the others identified. It is a

:43:53. > :43:55.very confusing situation. It was confusing, for example, the minister

:43:56. > :43:58.said that no demands have been made and yet we were very clearly under

:43:59. > :44:04.the impression that the hijacker had demanded to see his ex-wife. The

:44:05. > :44:09.Minister says that the hijacker had us to go to either Turkey or Cyprus,

:44:10. > :44:16.if he is so keen on speaking to his ex-wife in Cyprus, why was he happy

:44:17. > :44:20.to go to Turkey? We have colleagues from BBC Arabic interviewing

:44:21. > :44:23.passengers as they came off the plane, they have spoken of the

:44:24. > :44:26.situation that occurred as the hijacking taking place, and what

:44:27. > :44:30.appears to have happened first of all is that the crew took all the

:44:31. > :44:34.passports from those on the plane, then passengers noticed that the

:44:35. > :44:38.plane was gaining altitude, which it should not have been doing for a

:44:39. > :44:42.domestic flight, they were informed they were going to Cyprus for no

:44:43. > :44:47.apparent reason and then they were informed that a hijacking had taken

:44:48. > :44:51.place. What the Minister made clear was that they don't know if the

:44:52. > :44:58.suicide vest or belt that the hijacker said he had is real or

:44:59. > :45:02.virtual, as the minister put it, but they are dealing with it as though

:45:03. > :45:06.it is real, because they had to? Absolutely. I thought we saw the

:45:07. > :45:10.more serious side to this hijacking from the minister than we heard

:45:11. > :45:15.perhaps from the Cypriot authorities or the debate raging on social media

:45:16. > :45:19.about this. He is saying to some degree it does not matter if it is

:45:20. > :45:22.real or not, we had to take it seriously, and it clearly is being

:45:23. > :45:27.so. He is pushing back very firmly on questions about security in

:45:28. > :45:31.Egypt, a matter of immense sensitivity giving the bombing of a

:45:32. > :45:37.Russian jet in late 2015, a bombing Fed have originated from the

:45:38. > :45:40.Egyptian airport of Sharm el-Sheikh. Lots of questions, but still people

:45:41. > :45:44.on board, still passengers and crew on board, still a hijacker who may

:45:45. > :45:50.or may not have explosives, and lots of unanswered questions.

:45:51. > :45:55.A very serious situation clearly. The minister said he does not know

:45:56. > :45:59.thing negotiations are going to take but what is absolutely the priority

:46:00. > :46:04.is the safety and security of those still on board? Yes. Interestingly,

:46:05. > :46:08.he also suggested there were more than just one party negotiating with

:46:09. > :46:11.the hijacker. He suggested there were at least two parties now that

:46:12. > :46:17.may be that the Cypriot authorities want to have a role and yet it's the

:46:18. > :46:21.Egyptians taking the lead role. We still don't have an identification

:46:22. > :46:24.for the hijacker. We previously thought he was perhaps a little

:46:25. > :46:29.impossibly a Professor of Veterinary science from the university in

:46:30. > :46:33.Cairo, that's now been discounted as something that happened in the

:46:34. > :46:35.confusion of the first hour-and-a-half, that

:46:36. > :46:40.misidentification. So we don't know who he is and we don't know for sure

:46:41. > :46:46.what he wants, although there's an enormous amount of rumours about his

:46:47. > :46:52.ex-wife and a letter being thrown down and her coming to the airport.

:46:53. > :46:56.We have some stills of passengers getting off the plane and on to one

:46:57. > :47:02.of the buses that was brought, obviously to take them away from the

:47:03. > :47:08.aircraft. You can see a child there just being

:47:09. > :47:14.carried on to the bus alongside other passengers. These are still

:47:15. > :47:18.images which we have just received here at the BBC. People leaving the

:47:19. > :47:25.plane. This happened much earlier now, at least a couple of hours or

:47:26. > :47:28.so ago. Being escorted on to a bus which was waiting for them. You can

:47:29. > :47:37.see children there as well. It all looks pretty calm, doesn't

:47:38. > :47:41.it? Yes. And well it should do because of course whilst the been a

:47:42. > :47:45.terrifying situation for them, in reality, this hijacking for these

:47:46. > :47:49.passengers as they were released, really only lasted about an

:47:50. > :47:53.hour-and-a-half, two hours, pretty much within minutes of landing they

:47:54. > :47:57.were being released. It looked at that stage when we were talking

:47:58. > :48:01.then, as if this was coming swiftly to a peaceful end. However, the

:48:02. > :48:05.information from the Egyptian officials that there are still seven

:48:06. > :48:10.people on board, three passengers, four members of crew and security,

:48:11. > :48:14.along with the hijacker himself, means that this is still ongoing,

:48:15. > :48:18.still potentially very risky indeed. Obviously those who came off the

:48:19. > :48:23.plane will be immensely relieved. One's thoughts has to be with those

:48:24. > :48:27.who're still there. Those are the live pictures of the stationary

:48:28. > :48:32.plane, as Jonny says, with three passengers still on board. The

:48:33. > :48:42.pilot, copilot, one security officer and one female stewardess and we

:48:43. > :48:45.heard in that live news conference that negotiations are taking place

:48:46. > :48:56.with more than one party with the hijacker. Let's talk to Sally Nabil

:48:57. > :49:00.in Cairo. What are you hear thering? -- hearing there? The latest we have

:49:01. > :49:05.is that Egypt will send a plane to Larnaca as soon as possible to try

:49:06. > :49:09.to bring back the passengers that have been released. Negotiations are

:49:10. > :49:13.under way to release the three passengers who're still inside the

:49:14. > :49:21.plane in addition to four crew members. I'm at the Ministry of

:49:22. > :49:25.Civil aviation where the minister held a press conference. He didn't

:49:26. > :49:29.say what the nationalities of those still in the plane are, but he said,

:49:30. > :49:32.we are doing our best. Apparently, the situation is not related to

:49:33. > :49:36.terrorism, according to the President of Cyprus who said it's

:49:37. > :49:43.apparently a personal issue, the hijacker we don't know who he is

:49:44. > :49:47.yet, but he wanted to contact his ex-wife who lives in Cyprus. There

:49:48. > :49:54.were initial reports suggesting that the hijacker was an Egyptian

:49:55. > :50:01.American called Ibrahim Samahar, a professional. But the BBC BBC spoke

:50:02. > :50:06.to him and he appeared to be one of the passengers and he's in Larnaca

:50:07. > :50:09.Airport. We asked him how the situation was inside the aeroplane

:50:10. > :50:14.and he said it was pretty normal, there was no violence, nothing that

:50:15. > :50:18.aroused their concern or worry, but they just realised that the flight

:50:19. > :50:22.took longer than normal, it usually takes around 30 minutes to go from

:50:23. > :50:26.Alexandria to Cairo, but after some time, they realised they'd been

:50:27. > :50:30.hijacked. We asked if he has seen the hijacker at all but he said he

:50:31. > :50:33.didn't and now they are still in the airport waiting for an Egyptian

:50:34. > :50:37.plane to bring them all back. Authorities say they are doing their

:50:38. > :50:42.best to release those who're still trapped inside. Thank you, Sally

:50:43. > :50:47.Nabil. Good morning, let's bring you

:50:48. > :50:51.up-to-date with the latest: Egypt's civil aviation minister has said

:50:52. > :50:56.contrary to previous media reports, that there are still seven people,

:50:57. > :51:00.including three passengers on board that hijacked Egyptian plane that

:51:01. > :51:05.was forced to divert to Cyprus. At a news conference in the last half

:51:06. > :51:08.hour he said so far the hijacker has not made concrete demands. His

:51:09. > :51:16.motives are not thought to be related to terrorism.

:51:17. > :51:20.Flight MS181 took off from Alexandria en route to Cairo with at

:51:21. > :51:25.least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners and a seven-member crew.

:51:26. > :51:31.The hijacker who claimed he had a suicide vest or belt, is reported to

:51:32. > :51:35.have asked for the plane to be diverted towards either Turkey or

:51:36. > :51:39.Cyprus. This unverified image is thought to

:51:40. > :51:43.be the man who hijacked the plane. He's thought to be an Egyptian

:51:44. > :51:46.national. Earlier, unconfirmed reports said that he might have

:51:47. > :51:51.personal motives and that he's asked for a letter to be delivered to his

:51:52. > :51:56.estranged wife thought to be living in Cyprus. Those reports are

:51:57. > :51:59.unconfirmed. Here, the Foreign Office has said it's working to

:52:00. > :52:03.establish if there are any British people amongst the passengers. The

:52:04. > :52:08.plane is now on the ground at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus. We also

:52:09. > :52:14.understand that flights to Larnaca are being diverted to Paphos. The

:52:15. > :52:15.Cypriot President earlier ruled out terrorism being behind the

:52:16. > :52:37.hijacking. We can hear from him now. It seems 49 of the passengers have

:52:38. > :52:43.been released. We are doing our utmost to make sure everyone is

:52:44. > :52:46.released safe and to give an end to this unprecedented, in any case it's

:52:47. > :52:58.not something which has to do with terrorism. You know what I mean.

:52:59. > :53:00.REPORTER: Can you confirm that everything was about a woman? Always

:53:01. > :53:14.there is a woman involved! So that was the Cypriot President

:53:15. > :53:17.talking before Egypt's civil aviation minister gave his news

:53:18. > :53:30.conference. That was a much more sombre affair. Let's talk again to

:53:31. > :53:38.David, the Civil Aviation Authority representative. It's believed that

:53:39. > :53:43.the situation is being dealt with as if the suicide belt is real? Yes, I

:53:44. > :53:52.can understand why they are where they are. However, the tragedy about

:53:53. > :53:56.this is that this takes us back to the frequent hijackings pre-9/11. We

:53:57. > :54:00.haven't had another serious hijacking like this one since 9/11

:54:01. > :54:04.because the measures that came in after 9/11 have been so successful

:54:05. > :54:10.that nobody's succeeded in hijacking an aircraft. So what have we got

:54:11. > :54:17.here? What we've got here is a complete breakdown of faith in the

:54:18. > :54:18.security system. Since particularly in Egypt when the aircraft was blown

:54:19. > :54:24.out of the sky by a bomb in Egypt when the aircraft was blown

:54:25. > :54:33.departure from Sharm El-Sheikh in December last year, I think that

:54:34. > :54:36.this proves there is no longer faith in the security system. The system

:54:37. > :54:42.which should exist all over the world at the moment and has worked

:54:43. > :54:45.since 9/11, the captain should have been able to respond to somebody who

:54:46. > :54:52.claimed to have a security belt by saying, "no, I will not take you to

:54:53. > :54:55.Larnaca because I know you could not possibly be wearing a suicide vest

:54:56. > :55:03.because you could not have got through security with that on board.

:55:04. > :55:06." So really, what we have got to do is, I don't think there is an

:55:07. > :55:11.explosive but if you want to go somewhere, just get on board a cheap

:55:12. > :55:15.flight to a close destination, say you have got a suicide vest and your

:55:16. > :55:19.captain will take you there. If we are going back to the security Stone

:55:20. > :55:25.Age, that is where we are and this is where this is taking us.

:55:26. > :55:31.OK, thank you. Clearly there'll be consequences for anybody who tries

:55:32. > :55:35.that. Let's talk to Nicholas Zannetos, a journalist at Larnaca

:55:36. > :55:38.Airport where the plane remains and where seven people remain on board,

:55:39. > :55:41.including three passengers. I don't know if you caught the news

:55:42. > :55:45.conference from the civil aviation minister from Egypt. He'd not talk

:55:46. > :55:49.about the demands from the hijacker, he said "I cannot say if there are

:55:50. > :55:56.any demands from the hijacker". What are you hearing there?

:55:57. > :56:04.I can confirm that there are some demands. There was a letter from the

:56:05. > :56:10.hijacker. It was delivered to the police and there were translators

:56:11. > :56:16.here to translate what the letter was saying. So what we are hearing

:56:17. > :56:20.is, this is about a woman. This is the case.

:56:21. > :56:24.I'm going to leave it there, just because it's very difficult to hear

:56:25. > :56:28.you. Apologies to our audience for the

:56:29. > :56:32.qualities of that phone line. Our correspondent Jonny Dymond is here.

:56:33. > :56:37.In terms of summing up, what do we know so far that is confirmed? We

:56:38. > :56:41.know there are seven people still on board, with the hijacker effectively

:56:42. > :56:44.holding them and the plane hostage. We understand that demands have been

:56:45. > :56:48.made, it's mixed nationalities that were on the plane, we know that the

:56:49. > :56:54.vast majority of the passengers have been released from the plane. We

:56:55. > :56:58.believe, from the Egyptian Minister of The save aviation, that no

:56:59. > :57:02.demands have been made, although this contradicts a lot of what we

:57:03. > :57:05.have heard so far. The general picture is one of confusion and

:57:06. > :57:09.conflicting reports throughout the morning. The way we saw this going

:57:10. > :57:11.an hour ago, we thought this would be over, currently there is a

:57:12. > :57:16.hostage situation at Larnaca Airport and the plane is being held by a man

:57:17. > :57:21.or may or may not have explosives strapped to him. We simply don't

:57:22. > :57:24.know. It's a potentially dangerous and clearly terrifying situation for

:57:25. > :57:28.those on board. Many questions to be asked. David was raising one or two

:57:29. > :57:32.of them about security, particularly at some of Egypt's airports and they

:57:33. > :57:37.have had an issue with security in recent months? They had a terrible

:57:38. > :57:43.issue in late 2015, a Russian plane was blown out of the skies in

:57:44. > :57:46.November 2015 after it took off from Sharm El-Sheikh and very quickly a

:57:47. > :57:52.massive security failure was identified. The Egyptian Minister of

:57:53. > :57:55.Save aviation was pushing away questions about a potential security

:57:56. > :58:02.risk out of Alexandria where the plane took off from before it was

:58:03. > :58:05.divertded to Cyprus. There'll be all sorts of questions about whether

:58:06. > :58:08.security has been increased enough and about whether it's safe to fly

:58:09. > :58:12.from Egypt any more. Thank you very much. We will keep

:58:13. > :58:17.you up-to-date with the latest on the hijacked plane across the day on

:58:18. > :58:24.BBC News. An ongoing situation. Three passengers and four crew

:58:25. > :58:26.members still on board that plane. It's BBC Newsroom live next with

:58:27. > :58:35.Joanna Gosling. ..and that's what

:58:36. > :58:38.she felt with the blues.