Company Watch - Turkish Airlines.

Oct 9, 2006

Turkish Airlines 737-400 hijacking came under increased scrutiny yesterday as it became clear the hijacker acted alone and was able to penetrate the flight deck despite possessing no weapons, a striking security breach given the institution of post-9/11 measures such as hardened cockpit doors and the restriction of passenger access to cockpits. The flight's captain said the hijacker entered the cockpit and said there were three accomplices in the cabin ready to detonate explosives if orders were not followed, leading to the diversion of the Oct. 3 Tirana-Istanbul flight to Brindisi. "I obeyed because he gave me the impression his friends were there because he was often looking to the back of the plane," the pilot told reporters, explaining that the hijacker was able to enter the cockpit when a flight attendant opened the door to speak to the pilots. Italian officials yesterday released three Turkish nationals who were passengers on the flight and had been detained for questioning, saying there was no evidence they were involved. Oct 5, 2006

Turkish Airlines 737-400 en route from Tirana to Istanbul Ataturk was hijacked yesterday by a lone Turkish national who forced the pilots to land in Brindisi, where he surrendered to authorities and released all 107 passengers and six crew unharmed. The aircraft was undamaged. The hijacker apparently was seeking political asylum in Italy to avoid military service in Turkey, according to Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim, who said the man appeared to be acting "under the influence of psychological problems." The Associated Press reported that the hijacker burst into the cockpit and claimed to have an accomplice in the cabin, driving initial fears that the hijacking was part of a broader plot. It is unclear whether he possessed a weapon of any kind, but it soon was apparent he was acting alone. Oct 4, 2006

Regarding the THY highjack, Turkish TV initially quoted police sources saying the plane had been seized in protest at a planned visit to Turkey next month by Pope Benedict, who offended many Muslims with a speech last month linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence. But it emerged the hijacker was a Christian convert who wanted to avoid military service in Turkey and wrote to the Pope several months ago for help to avoid serving in "a Muslim army". Oct 4, 2006

A Vatican official said the Turkish Airlines hijacking was not expected to affect the Pope's plans. Amato said Ekinci travelled to Albania in May and requested asylum there on the grounds that he was viewed as a deserter from the Turkish army and would be punished if he went home. Albania refused his request and he was expelled from the country on the Turkish Airlines flight from Tirana to Istanbul. Ekinci entered the cockpit when a flight assistant left the door open soon after take-off, Amato said. Amato said he received two versions of what Ekinci said to the pilot. He either told the pilot he would blow himself up or that he had accomplices on board who would do so if his orders were not followed. Oct 4, 2006

Turkish Hijacker Was Alone And Unarmed. A man who hijacked a Turkish Airlines flight on Tuesday was unarmed, working alone and threatened to blow himself up if the pilot did not divert the flight to Italy, Italian Interior Minister Giuliano Amato said. All 107 passengers and six crew on the Boeing 737 were unharmed in the hijack which ended with the man's arrest at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy. The 27-year-old Turk, Hakan Ekinci, has requested political asylum in Italy. During the incident, the pilot reported there were two hijackers and the Turkish Defence Ministry said there might be four or five of them. Checks on everyone on board after the plane had landed and Ekinci had given himself up showed he was alone. Oct 4, 2006

When the highjacked Turkish Airlines pilot transmitted a code which alerts air traffic controllers to emergency situations, Ekinci told him to insert the more specific code which refers to a hijack. "The pilot said he knew procedures and the meaning of codes and said he learned it all on the Internet," Amato told the Senate. "I don't know how many of you would have known how to do that, I certainly wouldn't have." According to passengers, 20 minutes into the flight the pilot announced that a technical failure at Istanbul Airport meant the plane would have to land in Italy. "But when we saw Italian soldiers at the airport we understood the situation. The plane was hijacked. There was no panic among the passengers," passenger Ergun Erkoseoglu told a news conference at Istanbul airport. "After the incident was over he (the hijacker) said: "I apologize to all of you. Good night." At the Vatican, Cardinal Pio Laghi said the kidnap "worried us not just because of the risk of blood being spilt, but also because other people might copy this violent act". "But I don't think this episode will have any influence on the Holy Father's trip," he told reporters. Amato said that while the hijack exposed the "fragility" of security on the flight in question, it did not heighten security concerns for the Pope's trip. Oct 4, 2006

Turkish Hijackers Give Up In Italy. Two Turkish hijackers seeking to communicate with Pope Benedict seized a Turkish airliner flying from Albania to Istanbul on Tuesday and diverted it to Italy before surrendering. Italian police said the hijackers had given themselves up after a short period of negotiations. Police, military and fire vehicles surrounded the Turkish Airlines plane at Brindisi Airport in southern Italy, where the aircraft, carrying 107 passengers and six crew, landed after being escorted down by Italian fighter jets. Turkish television initially quoted police sources as saying the plane had been hijacked in protest at a planned visit to Turkey next month by the Pope, who offended many Muslims with a speech last month linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence. But Turkish television later reported one of the hijackers had converted to Christianity and was a conscientious objector. It said he had sent a letter to the Pope in late August, asking for his help to avoid compulsory military service in Turkey. It quoted the letter as reading: "I am a Christian and I do not want to serve in a Muslim army." Turkish Airlines told Turkish NTV television pilot Mursel Gokalp had said the passengers were all well and the hijackers were not armed. Police with dogs patrolled the airport, which was immediately closed and crowded with stranded passengers. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Holy See was following developments closely and that preparations for the November 28 - December 1 trip to Turkey were going ahead. The Pope has said he regrets the offence caused by his speech, in which he used a medieval quotation linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence, and said he was misunderstood. But Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has been one of those who have said they are not entirely satisfied with the apology. A Greek Defence Ministry official said the plane had entered Greek air space at 5:58 pm (1458 GMT) and was escorted out by the Greek fighter jets. The Italian air force later said it had intercepted the flight, which then landed at Brindisi. A number of planes have been hijacked to or from Turkey in the past decade, either by Kurdish rebels or hijackers with Chechen or Islamist sympathies. Oct 3, 2006

Editor: Aram Gesar, eMail: [e-mail]

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Oct 2, 2006