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EgyptAir flight 181: Hijacker arrested and all hostages freed from plane to end Cyprus airport siege - latest updates

Airbus A320 carrying 55 passengers was hijacked by a man claiming to have a suicide belt

Adam Withnall,Lizzie Dearden
Tuesday 29 March 2016 07:50 BST
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An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus
An Egypt Air Airbus A-320 sits on the tarmac of Larnaca aiport after it was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus (Getty Images)

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EgyptAir Flight 181 was was on a scheduled journey from Alexandria when it veered off course on Tuesday morning.

Androulla Vassiliou, the Cypriot former European Commissioner for Education, wrote on Twitter that the plane landed shortly before 7am.

Satellite data recorded by the Flight Aware website showed the Airbus A320 took off from Borg El Arab Airport as scheduled.

EgyptAir confirmed its plane, numbered MS181, had been “officially hijacked”.

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