Ethiopian Co-Pilot Hijacks Own Plane- Passengers Not Aware

An aircraft carrying 202 passengers was hijacked early Monday morning. The plane was bound for Rome but had to land in Geneva as the hijacker sought Asylum in Switzerland.
Amazingly, the hijacker was the aircraft's co-pilot, The man, an Ethiopian in his early 30s took control of the plane when the pilot went to the restroom and there after closed the fortified door.
He flew into Geneva's airspace several times, he asked the control tower:

"And you have to give us lastly permission on board for asylum."

"Yes I know," the tower responded. "Sorry, but we are still waiting for the response. We are trying our best to get you the response, sir."

The surrender

Eventually, the plane landed at Geneva International Airport.

"I will be coming out via the window," the co-pilot told the control tower.

He then escaped through the cockpit window using a rope, and surrendered to police, Brandt said.

He was unarmed, authorities said.

"His act has been motivated by the fact that he feels threatened in his county and wants to make an asylum claim in Switzerland," Swiss police spokesman Philippe Grangean said.

The passengers were not threatened or put in danger, police said.

Ethiopian Airlines, in a statement, would only say the plane was "forced to proceed" to the airport.

During the incident, Geneva International Airport was shut down. It reopened later Monday morning.

While rare, a pilot hijacking an airline is not unheard of.

In 1998, an Air China captain, reportedly disgruntled with life in China, hijacked his passenger jet to Taiwan.

Surprisingly, the passengers were not aware that their plane has been hijacked and none of them was harm as the man was arrested before they were informed.