Hijacked Turkish airliner lands in Greece

A Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul with more than 200 people on board was hijacked tonight and diverted to Greece by a lone man who wanted to fly on to Berlin.

The Airbus A310 plane to Ankara was hijacked after take off from Istanbul, and landed in Athens. Greek television showed footage of the plane on the runaway.

“We don’t have any information about the hijackers … they have stopped at the airport to refuel,” said Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis.

Turkey’s Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said the hijacker wanted to fly to Berlin. “There has been no message given so far,” Yildirim said.

Yildirim said there were 204 people – 196 passengers and eight crew members - aboard. Turkey’s Anatolia news agency said at least two MPs and a former minister were among the passengers.

The plane at first diverted course and began heading toward the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, but later changed course again and began heading toward Greece, Turkey’s private NTV television reported.

Kurdish, left wing and radical Islamic groups are active in Turkey and have carried out attacks in the past. Chechen militants have also carried out a series of hijackings and hostage-takings in protest at Russia’s military campaign in Chechnya.

The last hijacking at Istanbul’s airport was in February, when a lone hijacker claiming to have a bomb briefly held two flight attendants hostage before police stormed the aircraft.

In 1998, a man carrying a teddy bear he claimed was stuffed with explosives commandeered a Turkish Airlines flight. The incident ended when he was overpowered by other passengers.

Seven months later a man brandishing what turned out to be a toy gun hijacked another Turkish jetliner. He was persuaded to surrender.

A third hijacking that year ended in bloodshed when security officials stormed a plane on the tarmac at Ankara airport and shot dead a Kurdish rebel armed with a hand grenade. No passengers were hurt.