Egyptian Plane Held In Sweden Back To Cairo

An Egyptian airplane temporarily held in Sweden because it was reportedly carrying Syrian nationals without the right entry papers returned to Cairo Friday along with its Egyptian crew, state news agency MENA reported.

The airplane, leased from Smart Aviation, an Egyptian company, had landed in Sweden’s Malmö Airport on Wednesday from Lebanon.

It was carrying ten Syrian nationals on board who were allegedly holding fake Swedish visas. The Syrians asked for political asylum upon arrival.

Swedish authorities had initially detained the Syrians along with the plane and its crew, consisting of two Egyptian pilots.

Roshdy Zakaria, the  head of Smart Aviation Company, said that the airplane crew has arrived back to Egypt on Friday.

He added that Swedish authorities released them Thursday after they realised they were not involved in the incident.

Smart Aviation Company was launched in 2007 under the umbrella of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Source : Ahram online