Early Monday morning, an Ethiopian Airlines plane headed to Geneva in order to seek asylum because it was hijacked by its own co-pilot.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight was bound for Rome, and it eventually flew to Geneva, Switzerland, to look for asylum there.

The man who hijacked the plane was an Ethiopian in his early 30s. Police said the man was arrested soon as the plane landed at Geneva International Airport. There were 202 passengers and crew on board the hijacked Boeing 767-300, and none of these passengers were harmed.

This turn out of events was received warmly as compared to the last time an Ethiopian Airlines was hijacked. It was 1996 the last time an Ethiopian plane was hijacked, and during that time 125 people died as the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean after it ran out of fuel.

During the hijacking incident Monday, the airline said that Flight 702 had just taken off from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa and was heading for Rome.

Swiss police spokesman Jean-Philippe Brandt said that the opportunity to take control of the plane was grabbed by the co-pilot when the pilot went to the restroom. The co-pilot closed the fortified door and instead of heading for Rome, he steered the plane toward Geneva.

As the plane landed at the Geneva International Airport, the co-pilot told the control tower that he will "be coming out via the window." After which he escaped using the cockpit window with a rope. Eventually the co-pilot surrendered to the police.

Authorities confirmed he was unarmed. Swiss police spokesman Philippe Grangean 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."

Fortunately, the passengers were not threatened or put in danger.