(Photo from Smart Aviation)
Swedish Authorities held an Egyptian Smart Aviation Airlines aeroplane with ten Syrian passengers on board on Wednesday at Malmö Airport.
The ten Syrian passengers on board were en route to Sweden to demand political asylum, according to Mohamed Azam, Smart Aviation Airline’s Managing Director. However, he added, there was no problem with the Egyptian crew.
The plane took off on 15 December, reached the Swedish airport on 16 December and has been held since its arrival, added Azam.
Smart Aviation Airlines Chairman Roshdi Zakaria told state-run news agency MENA that Swedish authorities did not state the reasons for holding the aircraft.
Azam noted that the Egyptian Embassy in Sweden is negotiating the return of the Egyptian crew with Swedish authorities.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman noted in a Wednesday statement that an Egyptian aircraft belonging to a private aviation agency has been leased by a “non-Egyptian agent”. It had set out carrying non-Egyptians from a foreign country to Sweden.
The passengers, however, were stopped by Swedish authorities to examine their papers, read the statement.
