Authorities: Co-Pilot Took Control of Ethiopian Airlines Plane, Wanted Asylum (WSJ)

An Ethiopian Airlines jet en route from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to Rome was forced to land in Geneva on Monday after the co-pilot apparently took control of the aircraft in an attempt to seek asylum, authorities said.

Police arrested the co-pilot of Ethiopian Airlines flight 702 after the plane made an unscheduled landing at Geneva airport around 6 a.m. Central European Time, authorities said at a news conference.

The co-pilot was motivated to seek asylum because he felt threatened in his home country, according to the authorities.

The co-pilot, identified as an Ethiopian born in 1983, fled the aircraft through a cockpit window, the authorities said. No one was injured during the event.

After a temporary closure, the airport reopened for departures at 8 a.m. local time, with arrivals starting at about 8:45 a.m., according to a notice on the airport's website.