CAIRO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Egyptian security agents on Wednesday arrested a Sudanese man who tried to hijack an airliner armed with a plastic knife, security sources said.

The passenger grabbed the knife from his meal tray after the Egypt Air plane left Turkish airspace bound for Cairo. He then demanded the crew divert the aircraft to Jerusalem.

Egyptian onboard security officers reacted immediately, calmed the passenger down and arrested him while the flight continued without disruption. No one was hurt in the incident.

It was not immediately clear what his motives were. (Writing by Mariam Karouny; Editing by Jon Hemming)

AlertNet news is provided by