Update
Hijacking crisis at Geneva Airport over
Geneva police spokesperson, Eric Grandjean, has confirmed that the hijacker of flight 702 was the 30-year-old Ethiopian co-pilot of the plane.
The hijacking crisis at Geneva Airport is now over and Geneva police say the situation is under control.
Ethiopian Airline’s flight 702 en route from Addis Ababa to Rome sent out a distress signal of a hijacking, while flying over Sudan.
After circling over Geneva airport the plane landed at 6AM and negotiations with the hijacker began. The co-pilot locked the captain out of the cockpit when he went to the toilet and took control of the aircraft-requesting asylum in Switzerland. The co-pilot was unarmed and surrendered by climbing through a cockpit window.
Police confirm that the co-pilot has been arrested and that all 200 passengers and the crewmembers are safe.
Geneva Airport has now reopened.
Olivier Jornot, Attorney General of the Canton of Geneva, says that under Swiss law taking hostages can garner up to 20 years in prison.