Ethiopian airlines hijacking - the international perspective

Excerpt

On 17 February 2014 the co-pilot of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 702 which was operated with a Boeing 767-300 aircraft bound from Addis Ababa to Milan, hijacked¹ the aircraft when the commander of the aircraft left the cockpit for the toilet. The offender locked the cockpit door, effectively precluding the pilot from entering the flight deck after his sojourn to the washroom. The apparent motive behind the hijacking was to seek asylum,² although it is not entirely clear as to where the offender exactly wanted to go. The aircraft, which was on scheduled service was forced by Italian military aircraft, which were joined by French fighter jets, to land in Geneva, Switzerland, which only a few days prior to the hijacking had by referendum voted for stricter control of immigration into the country. All passengers and crew members were unhurt. This case comes within three multilateral treaties all of which both Ethiopia and Switzerland are parties to. …