This is the moment a brave air hostess on the hijacked EgyptAir plane bid farewell to freed hostages before stepping back inside the jet instead of making a bid for freedom. The woman can be seen dressed in what appears to be the airline's uniform as she directed passengers off flight MS181 , which was forced to land at Larnaca airport in Cyprus this morning. She even pulls one of the hostage in for an embrace before they make their way down the stairs towards a bus waiting to take people to the airport terminal. However, instead of making a bid for freedom, the woman returns to the aircraft to stay with the rest of the crew and passengers that were being kept hostage. It comes as a spokesperson reportedly told Sky News Arabia that the pilot and co-pilot were asked to leave the plane but refused. Seven people were still held on the aircraft with the hijacker until about 12.30pm (UK time) when four hostages were reportedly freed. He was earlier reported to be a 27-year-old veterinarian but those claims have since been disproved and officials later said the suspect was a man named Seif El Din Mustafa. The man's motivation is unclear, but Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades said the hijacking was nothing to do with terrorism, while a Cyprus government official said the man "seems (to be) in love". A civil aviation official said the man gave negotiators at Larnaca airport the name of a woman who lives in Cyprus and asked to give her an envelope. It is unclear what relationship she and the man have. Flight MS181 took off from the Mediterranean coastal city of Alexandria en route to Cairo with at least 55 passengers, including 26 foreigners, and a seven-member crew. n official with flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 said the plane showed no immediate signs of distress. The flight between Alexandria and Cairo normally takes about 30 minutes. Egyptian government spokesman Hossam al-Queish identified the man who hijacked the plane as Ibrahim Samah. Mr Al-Queish told the CBC TV network that authorities could not confirm that the man had explosives on him. An earlier statement from the Egyptian Aviation Ministry statement said the man claimed he was wearing an explosive belt. The plane landed at the airport in the southern Cypriot city of Larnaca, also on the Mediterranean. The Egyptian civil aviation ministry said the foreigners on board included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, a French national, an Italian, two Greeks and one Syrian. Three other foreigners could not be identified. The incident raises more questions about security at Egyptian airports, five months after a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed in the crash. Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft and the extremist Islamic State group took responsibility. EgyptAir is offering those concerned about their loved ones possibly being on the flight several telephone numbers to call for more information.
