{"id":32292091,"date":"2026-11-11T15:01:40","date_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/?p=32292091"},"modified":"2026-11-11T15:01:51","modified_gmt":"2026-11-11T14:01:51","slug":"egyptair-flight-181-hijacking-larnaca-2016-ben-innes-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/egyptair-flight-181-hijacking-larnaca-2016-ben-innes-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"EgyptAir 181: The Hijacking, the Fake Bomb Belt and the Photo"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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A passenger had told the crew he was wearing a suicide belt. Six hours later he walked off the aircraft with his hands up, the belt turned out to be fake, and nobody had been injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-left:4px solid #1a1a1a;padding:18px 22px;margin:24px 0\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px\"><li><strong>Date:<\/strong> 29 March 2016<\/li><li><strong>Flight:<\/strong> EgyptAir MS181, Alexandria (Borg El Arab) to Cairo<\/li><li><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Airbus A320<\/li><li><strong>Diverted to:<\/strong> Larnaca International Airport, Cyprus<\/li><li><strong>Hijacker:<\/strong> Seif Eldin Mustafa, an Egyptian<\/li><li><strong>Weapon:<\/strong> A fake suicide belt<\/li><li><strong>Duration:<\/strong> About six hours<\/li><li><strong>Injuries:<\/strong> None<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A Belt Made of Phone Cases<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hijacker, identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa, claimed to be wearing explosives. The aircraft landed at Larnaca and negotiations began on the ground. Most of the passengers were released early, while Mustafa kept a handful of passengers and crew on board. His demands were confused: he asked to speak to or send a letter to his Cypriot ex-wife, and at various points was reported to have asked to meet EU officials, to fly on to another airport and to free women held in Egyptian prisons. Cyprus&rsquo;s president said the episode had nothing to do with terrorism, and the Cypriot foreign ministry described him as psychologically unstable. The belt, Cypriot officials said, was made of mobile phone cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The standoff ended around midday local time. One man climbed out of the cockpit window and Mustafa surrendered to Cypriot counter-terrorism officers. All passengers and crew came off unharmed. An Egyptian official summed him up in one line, widely quoted at the time: he was not a terrorist, he was an idiot.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The Photograph<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What made the hijacking famous was a picture taken during it. Ben Innes, a 26-year-old British passenger, was among the last people still held on board. He asked a member of the cabin crew to translate a request to the hijacker: could he have a photo with him? Mustafa agreed, and Innes stood grinning beside him while, by his own account, a stewardess took the picture. Innes later called it the best selfie ever, although, as his mother pointed out, he did not take it himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The image spread around the world within hours and drew as much criticism as admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">What the Viral Post Gets Right<\/h2>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The account going around is accurate: an EgyptAir flight hijacked in 2016, a passenger called Ben Innes who asked to pose with the hijacker, a belt that turned out to be fake and an ending with no injuries. One small correction: despite the name, it was not a selfie. By Innes&rsquo;s own account a flight attendant took the photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Sources: ITV News (29 March 2016); The New Daily, quoting The Sun (30 March 2016); Vice News (29 March 2016); Yorkshire Evening Post (March 2016); The Scotsman (March 2016); Runway Girl Network (March 2016).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\n\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>What happened on EgyptAir Flight 181?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">On 29 March 2016 EgyptAir flight MS181, an Airbus A320 from Alexandria to Cairo, was hijacked by a passenger claiming to wear a suicide belt and diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus. After about six hours the hijacker surrendered. The belt was fake and nobody was injured.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who hijacked EgyptAir Flight 181?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The hijacker was an Egyptian man identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa. Cypriot officials described him as psychologically unstable, and his demands centred on his Cypriot ex-wife rather than any political cause.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Was the EgyptAir hijacker&rsquo;s bomb real?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. The suicide belt worn by the EgyptAir 181 hijacker was fake; Cypriot officials said it was made from mobile phone cases.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who took a photo with the EgyptAir hijacker?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Ben Innes, a 26-year-old British passenger, asked through a crew member to pose for a photo with the hijacker and stood smiling beside him. According to Innes, a stewardess took the picture, so it was not strictly a selfie.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Was anyone hurt in the EgyptAir 181 hijacking?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. All passengers and crew of EgyptAir flight MS181 left the aircraft at Larnaca unharmed, and the hijacker was arrested by Cypriot police.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What happened on EgyptAir Flight 181?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"On 29 March 2016 EgyptAir flight MS181, an Airbus A320 from Alexandria to Cairo, was hijacked by a passenger claiming to wear a suicide belt and diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus. After about six hours the hijacker surrendered. The belt was fake and nobody was injured.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who hijacked EgyptAir Flight 181?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The hijacker was an Egyptian man identified as Seif Eldin Mustafa. Cypriot officials described him as psychologically unstable, and his demands centred on his Cypriot ex-wife rather than any political cause.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was the EgyptAir hijacker\u2019s bomb real?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. The suicide belt worn by the EgyptAir 181 hijacker was fake; Cypriot officials said it was made from mobile phone cases.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who took a photo with the EgyptAir hijacker?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Ben Innes, a 26-year-old British passenger, asked through a crew member to pose for a photo with the hijacker and stood smiling beside him. According to Innes, a stewardess took the picture, so it was not strictly a selfie.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was anyone hurt in the EgyptAir 181 hijacking?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. All passengers and crew of EgyptAir flight MS181 left the aircraft at Larnaca unharmed, and the hijacker was arrested by Cypriot police.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/lufthansa-flight-181-landshut-hijacking-mogadishu-1977\/\">Lufthansa Flight 181: The Landshut Hijacking and the Jet\u2019s Return<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/el-al-flight-219-hijacking-1970-bar-lev-dive-dawsons-field\/\">The El Al Captain Who Dived to Beat a Hijacking<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On 29 March 2016 a short domestic EgyptAir flight from Alexandria to Cairo ended up in Cyprus, hijacked by a man wearing what he said was a suicide belt. It was fake, nobody was hurt, and the whole thing is now remembered mostly for one photograph. Here is what happened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":32292050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32292091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EgyptAir 181 Hijacking 2016: Larnaca, a Fake Belt and the Photo | MiGFlug<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On 29 March 2016 an EgyptAir A320 from Alexandria was hijacked to Cyprus by a man in a fake suicide belt. 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