The hijacking of Turkish Airlines flight TK 160 late Friday evening has ended peacefully at the Athens International Airport.
The lone hijacker surrendered after hours of negotiations.
Initially, the hijacker had wanted the plane to go to Germany, where family members of his had recently been arrested. Since the plane was a commuter flight, the pilots, under escort from Greek fighter planes, headed to Athens for refueling, landing at 11:59 p.m. Friday night.
Authorities were alarmed that the hijacking might be politically motivated as at least three members of Turkey's parliament were on board the internal flight, which is used primarily by Turkish professionals traveling between Ankara and Istanbul.
Due to the late hour of the incident, operations at Athens International Airport were only minimally affected.
The suspect, Ozgur Gencaslan, was arrested by Greek authorities. High-ranking officials of both Greece and Turkey spoke to the suspect by phone during the standoff.
