Flight to Egypt blocked because of suspect passenger

An EgyptAir flight to Cairo took off from Brussels Airport on Sunday afternoon after being detained for 24 hours because of suspicions about one of the passengers.

“The procedure states that no risks are to be taken when there exists the slightest uncertainty regarding safety,” said a spokesperson for the federal police. “That is why strict and thorough checks have been carried out by the relevant services, after which the security services decided to allow the flight to leave.”

Flight MS726 was due to depart on Saturday at 15.55 but was prevented from taking off, according to reports, after a male passenger made a remark about something happening to the plane. He was removed from the flight for questioning, while other passengers were placed on other flights to Cairo. According to unconfirmed reports, the passengers included a senior diplomat who may have been the target of an attack.

The police have not confirmed reports that the man was suspected of terrorist links, nor would they state whether he was on the flight when it left Brussels.

“We were kept in the dark for hours,” said one passenger. “It was only when I looked at the news sites that I saw what was going on. Everything was being laughed off, but we could see how police officers were surrounding the plane, and police dogs were being taken on board.”

Photo courtesy Kvdh/Wikimedia