The co pilot and hijacker of his own plane has been identified as Hailemedhin Abera Tegegn, 31 years of age. He is an Ethiopian National who gave up a career as an architect to become a pilot. He has worked for Ethiopian Airlines for five years. He is an orthodox Christian. His parents are alive and he has seven brothers and sisters. He has a girlfriend who runs her own cafe. Why he did it remains a mystery. Hailemedhin said he was requesting asylum in Geneva for fear of persecution in his native country. The Ethiopian…
ET 702 Co-pilot Arrested [updated]
In many books and films, the “villain” is the most obvious character. It seems in today’s Ethiopian Airlines hijacking emergency, the perpetrator was the plane’s co pilot. Just after 9am CET on 17 Feb (8am GMT, 3am US EST), Reuters reported that the co-pilot of the hijacked Ethiopian Airlines 767 that was forced to land at Geneva Airport just after 6am CET, surrendered to police and asked for asylum in Switzerland. Police said the co-pilot was not armed. They said he felt threatened in his country. The co-pilot hijacked the 767 after the pilot went…
Ethiopian Passengers leave plane & are searched
Passengers from the hijacked Ethiopian Airlines flight 702 which landed in Geneva, have disembarked the plane which has been parked at the end of runway 05, away from the airport’s terminal building. They were searched by the police as they disembarked the aircraft. The passengers then boarded buses near the plane. There were approximately 200 passengers on the hijacked flight. Swiss police continue to advise that there was a single hijacker who has been arrested. There are still no further details on motive and hijacker identity despite earlier rumours. There will be a Press Conference…
Ethiopian Hijacker arrested- Airport closed-All safe
Ethiopian Airlines are reporting all passengers and crew are safe at Geneva Airport. Associated Press announced that the hijacker of the plane has been arrested. Police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt told The Associated Press that “the situation is under control” Geneva airport is fermé (closed) until 9 a.m local time (8am GMT, 3am US EST) according to the airport website. There will be a Press Conference at that time. Flights bound for Geneva have been cancelled or diverted as a result. The reason for the hijacking is unclear, although unconfirmed reports suggest that some of those on board the aircraft may have been…
Ethiopian Airlines Hijack? [updated]
Confession: I am less scared of crashing inside a plane than I am worried I may be a hijack victim. So my heart goes out to 200 passengers today. News sources are reporting that Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702, a Boeing 767-300 (registration: ET- AMF) was hijacked over Sudan. Social media posts suggested that the plane’s transponder began squawking”7500″. Flight 702 departed from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) and had been scheduled to arrive in Rome (FCO) at 04:40 (local time). The flight was scheduled to fly on to Milan (MXP) but that segment has…
Replacing the Concierge?
“A hotel employee whose job is to assist guests by booking tours, making theatre and restaurant reservations, etc.” While some people swear by them, I rarely utilise concierges. If I am going back to the same hotel time after time, then I may build a relationship with the concierge. Over time, they can do my work for me. Stories abound about concierges who can get guests into “that restaurant” or a “seat at the sell out show”. But I am often only in a place for one or two nights or I visit a city once.…
The world’s most crowded 380
When the 747 debuted over 40 years ago, the airlines promised luxurious lounges, roomy bar areas and elaborate staircases. The oil crisis of the early 1970s woke airlines to a basic premise: those spaces cost revenue. The trend after that was to see how many extra rows of revenue generating seats could be crammed in! The same thing seems to happening with the Boeing 787 and the Airbus 380. Seat capacity of the 380 carriers is Korean: 407 (plus Duty free store!) Singapore: 409 or 471 Qantas: 450 or 484 British Airways: 463 Singapore Emirates:…
Amazing video of ship beaching
From 1987 to 2012, the MS Pride of Calais served on the cross-Channel route to Calais. Last year, she sailed between Ramsgate and Ostend. In October, the 26,000 tonne ship was sent to a scrap yard in Turkey. Last week a video went viral of the MS Pride of Calais being run aground at at the Turkish breakers yard. Related articles
Fixing the Tricky Visa issues
Sometimes our business or personal travel takes us to places which are technically at war with each other or have no diplomatic relations e.g. Iran and Israel (see below). This means if you visit one and have visa stamps in your passport, you may not be allowed to visit the other. Or face some very awkwardly questioning. Options: 1. Ask the agent to not stamp your passport Cuba and Israeli immigration agents will hand you a separate piece of paper with the visa stamp which sits in your passport. 2. Find your Dual Nationality Some…
Qatar’s Staff Criticisms – 3 questions
Is it acceptable to have your employer grant permission “in case you wish to change your marital status and get married“? This employee rule made the news, this week, in an article The truth about the luxury of Qatar Airways published last week in a Swedish tabloid: Expressen. The article is blisteringly critical of the airline. Qatar Airways has been voted world!s best airline for two years in a row. They pick up awards for business class, their service and their lounges. On top of that, the airline had been involved in massive expansion going from four to 120…
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