A hijacked Ethiopian Airlines jet (pictured above) landed safely in Geneva after the co-pilot allegedly seized control of the aircraft and requested asylum in Switzerland in the early hours of February 17, 2014, Monday.
According to multiple news reports, the co-pilot - who has been arrested took control of the Boeing 767-300, while the pilot was in the bathroom.
All the passengers are reportedly safe and were seen leaving the aircraft with their hands on their necks before boarding a bus.
Flight 702 had been en route to Rome from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, when it sent out transponder code 7500, an alarm signal that usually indicates hijacking.
The plane had been flying over Sudan when it sent out the signal. It reached Geneva with just 20 minutes of fuel left, circling the airport several times before landing.
According to AirlineReporter, the incident briefly shut down the busy airport and caused the cancelation of some flights as incoming aircraft were diverted to other airports.
In a statement, Ethiopian Airlines said Flight 702 "on scheduled service departing from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 (local time) was forced to proceed to Geneva airport".
"Accordingly, the flight has landed safely at Geneva airport. All passengers and crew are safe at Geneva airport," it added in the statement.
All 200 passengers and crew on board the plane were in good health, the company said,
Passengers came out of the aircraft at about 08:00 (local time) surrounded by dozens of police, the Tribune de Geneve reports.
According to multiple news reports, the co-pilot - who has been arrested took control of the Boeing 767-300, while the pilot was in the bathroom.
All the passengers are reportedly safe and were seen leaving the aircraft with their hands on their necks before boarding a bus.
Flight 702 had been en route to Rome from Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, when it sent out transponder code 7500, an alarm signal that usually indicates hijacking.
The plane had been flying over Sudan when it sent out the signal. It reached Geneva with just 20 minutes of fuel left, circling the airport several times before landing.
According to AirlineReporter, the incident briefly shut down the busy airport and caused the cancelation of some flights as incoming aircraft were diverted to other airports.
In a statement, Ethiopian Airlines said Flight 702 "on scheduled service departing from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 (local time) was forced to proceed to Geneva airport".
"Accordingly, the flight has landed safely at Geneva airport. All passengers and crew are safe at Geneva airport," it added in the statement.
All 200 passengers and crew on board the plane were in good health, the company said,
Passengers came out of the aircraft at about 08:00 (local time) surrounded by dozens of police, the Tribune de Geneve reports.
- Agencies