Co-pilot hijacks Ethiopian plane
Swiss authorities have arrested the co-pilot of an Ethiopian Airlines flight that was forced to land at Geneva’s international airport, airport officials told the Reuters news agency.
Geneva airport chief executive Robert Deillon told reporters on Monday that an Ethiopian man took control of the plane when the pilot ventured outside the cockpit.
“The pilot went to the toilet and he (the co-pilot) locked himself in the cockpit,” Deillon said. The man “wanted asylum in Switzerland,” he said. “That’s the motivation of the hijacking.”
The hijacking began over Italy and two Italian fighter jets were scrambled to accompany the plane, Deillon said.
The co-pilot himself alerted authorities to the plane’s hijacking, officials added - though passengers on the plane were unaware it had been hijacked. After landing in Geneva, the co-pilot exited the cockpit using a rope and turned himself in to authorities.
Police escorted passengers one by one, their hands over their heads, from the taxied plane to waiting vehicles.
Officials said there was no risk to passengers or crew at any point.
Ethiopian Airlines flight 702 bound for Rome from Addis Ababa was reportedly denied permission to land and circled Geneva for several minutes before it was “forced to proceed” to the airport, which had been temporarily closed by authorities.
An Ethiopian government spokesman, Redwan Hussein, told Reuters that the flight had made a scheduled stop in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, where it was originally thought the hijacker or hijackers may have boarded the flight.
“We don’t know where they are from or how many they are but it looks like the hijacker or hijackers boarded the flight in Khartoum,” Redwan added shortly before police announced they had detained the assailant.
Reports on social media said Ethiopian Airlines flight was flying over Sudan when it issued a distress signal, Squawk 7500, which is code indicating a hijacking.