EgyptAir: no employees investigated so far over Manhattan bag

EgyptAir said it has not received any comments from the US authorities over reports that two EgyptAir in-flight security employees opened a bag on a Manhattan street that was later reported to contain a bomb.

All EgyptAir employees, especially those in sensitive positions, are subjected to security reviews by the Egyptian security authorities before their appointment, Chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company Safwat Mosallam said.

He denied that the police interrogated them upon their arrival in Cairo or that the US side sent requests to EgyptAir in this regard.

If any EgyptAir employee was proven to be involved in any incidents, EgyptAir is not responsible for their actions, Mosallam said.

Surveillance footage showed the two men finding the bag on West 27th Street in Manhattan on the evening of September 17, soon after a bomb exploded on West 23rd Street, injuring 31 people and triggering terrorism fears across the region.

In the video, the men were seen pulling from the travel bag a white plastic bag that contained a pressure cooker connected to wires and a mobile phone. They left the white bag on the sidewalk and walked away with the travel bag. The bomb did not explode.

Source: MENA