The video will start in 8 Cancel

The Daily Star's FREE newsletter is spectacular! Sign up today for the best stories straight to your inbox Sign up today! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

(Image: TWITTER)

Innes shot to fame after he took a selfie with a man who went on to hold the plane hostage while wearing a fake suicide belt.

Many quiestioned why he seemed so cheerful while stood next to a man that the entire flight believed was about to detonate explosives onboard.

But his mum has now revealed that it may have been part of a ploy to alert those outside the plane to the terrifying events inside.

Pauline Innes, from Leeds, West Yorks said she hopes to "get her son home," following the ordeal.

(Image: LinkedIn/BenjaminInnes)

She said: "All we can say is that the picture is clearly not a selfie as everyone has been describing it.

"You can clearly see that it is not Ben who is taking the picture."

There were three other Brits aboard the AirEgypt's MS181 jet which was hijacked this morning en route from Burj El Arab airport in Alexandria to Cairo.

It was forced to land in Larnaca airport in Cyprus.

(Image: AFP/GETTY)

The airline said the captain, Omar Jamal, was alerted to the presence of a passenger who was wearing an explosives belt.

After landing seven crew and passengers were held hostage.

One of the last to leave the plane was Innes.

He is believed to have sent the selfie to his flatmates during the ordeal, MailOnline reported.

(Image: EGYPT STATE TV)

The world watched in on shock as the incredible scenes unfolded this morning.

Armed cops closed in at midday and one hostage was seen escaping from a cockpit window, dropping at least 20ft and then running away.

Three more could be seen running with their hands held over their head before the suspect finally walked down the steps of the plane to be detained by security officers.

In a tweet, the ministry said: "Its over. The #hijacker arrested. #LarnacaAirport # Egyptair."

(Image: SG)

The drama unfolded just a few miles from a British Army sovereign base in Dhekelia where SAS elite troops are poised for action.

It was unclear whether Tornados from RAF Akrotiri, another base on the island, were scrambled when the hijacked plane was airborne.

The crazed hijacker – named by the Cyprus foreign ministry as Egyptian Seif Eldin Mustafa – was said to be demanding the release of political prisoners in Egypt and to speak to EU representatives.

(Image: DS)

Initially the suspect wanted to go to Istanbul in Turkey but was told by the captain there was not enough fuel.

The director of the Alexandria airport, Hossni Hassan, said 26 foreigners were aboard the flight, including eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, an Italian, a French national, two Greeks and one Syrian.

Three other foreigners could not be identified.

Meanwhile a New York bound EgyptAir flight was delayed amid security fears related to hijacked plane-security sources.

(Image: EGYPTAIR)

Egyptian government officials initially named the suspected hijacker of the plane as 27-year-old university professor Ibrahim Samaha.

But there was then conflicting reports suggesting Samaha was just another hostage on the plane.

To add to the confusion, earlier reports of the hijacker wanting to contact his estranged spouse in Cyprus.

Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot.

EgyptAir tweeted to confirm reports, saying: "Our flight MS181 is officially hijacked."

A later tweet said: "Negotiations with hijacker resulted in the release of all the passengers except cabin crew and five foreigners."

Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the plane hijacking, according to an Israeli military source.

(Image: REUTERS)

The incident will raise questions over security at Egyptian airports, coming just five months after 224 people were killed when a Russian aircraft crashed over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula minutes after it took off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Russia later said an explosive device brought down the aircraft, and the extremist Islamic State group (IS) said it was responsible.

Cyprus is a popular tourist destination for British holidaymakers, with around a million visiting every year.

(Image: TWITTER)

Flights were being diverted away from Larnaca airport as a result of the hijacking, and the Foreign Office urged anyone travelling to the country to contact their airline or travel company.

The disruption comes during one of the busiest times for the airport.