Accused plane hijacker extradited to Egypt

An Egyptian accused of hijacking a plane and diverting it to Cyprus has been sent back from the Mediterranean island to his homeland after a two-year extradition battle, officials said yesterday.

Seif al-din Mohamed Mostafa, 61, allegedly used a fake suicide belt to seize an Egyptair airliner from Alexandria to Cairo in March 2016.

Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released after the plane landed, but some escaped only minutes before the six-hour standoff finished.