Ekinci demanded to go to Rome to speak with the Pope, but Greek and Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon jets intercepted and escorted the aircraft until it landed in Brindisi, Italy.

At first, the hijacking incident was linked with the envisaged visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Turkey, but later, it was ascertained that Ekinci was seeking to request political asylum from Italy.

[4] The pilots transmitted the hijack squawk code twice at 14:55 (UTC), while the aircraft was cruising about 25 kilometres (15 mi) north of Thessaloniki.

Sabri Abazi, an Albanian member of parliament, who was a passenger on the flight, spoke to ANSA news agency by mobile phone on board.

[10] Istanbul Governor Muammer Güler reported that the hijacker Ekinci lied to the airliner's pilots that he had at least one accomplice.

Brindisi Police Chief, Salvatore De Paolis, told Reuters "they will request political asylum".

[11] In an interview with reporters, a fire rescue official said "The two hijackers want to speak to journalists so they can send a message to the Pope and explain why they did this.

"[12] Amoto reported that the hijacker wanted to deliver a message for Pope Benedict XVI, but stated he did not have a written letter.

He was body searched and passed through a metal detector, then removed his belt, sweater, and emptied his pockets, but was cleared to proceed to his flight.

At first, Turkish media reported police sources as saying the hijacking was in protest against the then envisaged visit of Pope Benedict XVI, who had offended many Muslims with a speech linking the spread of the Islamic faith to violence.

[17] Turkish officials reported the hijacker's name as Hakan Ekinci, born in 1978 in Buca,[13] who is known to have written a letter to the Pope in August 2006.

[6] Pope Benedict XVI visited Ankara, Istanbul, and Ephesus as a guest of the Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer between 28 November and 1 December 2006.