An Egyptian man accused of hijacking a domestic flight and forcing it to land in Cyprus on Tuesday using a fake suicide belt has appeared in court.
Judges at the Larnaca court, where the international airport is located, are assessing a request to keep Seif Eldin Mustafa in custody for eight days.
He has not been formally charged yet.
Cypriot authorities have described him as “psychologically unstable”. President Nicos Anastasiades has said the incident was not terrorism-related.
EgyptAir flight MS181 was carrying 56 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo, along with six crew and a security official, when it was diverted to Cyprus.
During a stand-off lasting more than six hours, almost all passengers and crew were freed unharmed as authorities negotiated with Mustafa, reports the BBC.
One person, apparently a crew member, climbed out of a cockpit window, minutes before the suspect walked calmly out of the plane to surrender.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said Mustafa had initially asked to speak with his Cypriot ex-wife, who police brought to the airport, before making a series of “incoherent” demands.
President Anastasiades had responded to a reporter’s question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, by laughing and saying: “Always there is a woman involved.”
A photograph showing a British man posing with the hijacker inside the plane has been widely circulated. Ben Innes told the Sun newspaper he was trying to get a better look at the device.
A statement from Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said 26 foreign passengers were on board, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch citizens, two Belgians, two Greeks, a French national, an Italian and a Syrian.