Turkish Plane Hijacked because of Pope

A Turkish Airlines plane carrying more than 100 passengers from Tirana, Albania, to Istanbul, was hijacked Tuesday and landed at Italy's Brindisi airport, company spokesman Ali Genc said.

The plane was hijacked in Greek airspace, Genc said.

Turkish television channel NTV, quoting unnamed security officials, reported that the plane was hijacked by two Turks to protest Pope Benedict XVI's planned visit to Turkey next month.

A spokesman for the Greek military's general staff told The Associated Press that four Greek fighter jets had been scrambled to shadow the plane after it issued a distress signal over Greek airspace.

Update (Oct. 4): The initial reports have now been changed to say that one of the hijackers was a convert to Christianity who "feared for his life in Turkey after adopting the Christian religion." He apparently was trying to draw attention to his plight through a plea for Papal intervention. Certainly this was the most polite hijacker in history:

Passengers characterized the incident as "a relatively calm and chatty experience"

The hijacker was unarmed, except for a fake bomb

His first words were "I'm not going to hurt anyone"

He "did not display any aggressive behavior in flight or on the ground"

His first words in Italy were "I want to stay in Italy because I'm afraid of going back"

He had previously unsuccessfully sought asylum in Albania, but was deported

As the hijacking ended, Ekinci "walked through the middle of the business class and said, 'I apologize to all of you...Good night'"

(Hat tip: Chaya Eytan)