Failed attempt to hijack Anadolu Jet aircraft
A 50-year old Workers' Day activist attempted to hijack an airplane going from Nicosia to Ankara this morning, threatening to detonate a bomb if the pilots refused to divert the flight to Istanbul. The hijacker reportedly said he wanted to join the May Day demonstrations in Turkey's largest city - Istanbul.
According to Turkey's Daily Hürriyet newspaper, the unnamed man told Anadolu Jet cabin crew at 06.45 that he was carrying a bomb in his jacket. He then locked himself in the plane’s toilet, shouting that he had a GPS device and would blow up the plane if they did not go to Istanbul. The plane eventually landed in Ankara anyway.
A passenger on the flight told the newspaper that “After the plane landed in Ankara, over 10 policemen pulled the man from the toilet and detained him. The passengers are in now shock.”