Colombo: A man armed with a knife tried to hijack an Air Seychelles (AS) Boeing 737 on September 9, but he was overpowered and later arrested when the plane landed in the Maldives, officials said.

The man tried to enter the cockpit of the flight from Mumbai, but was tackled by a cabin crew member who received minor injuries, Maldivian director general of civil aviation Mohammed Razi said.

"The drama had ended by the time the aircraft landed at the Male International airport," Razi said. "We have arrested one man who is in the custody of the police.

"We are not sure of his nationality, but he was carrying an Indian passport. We are also questioning another passenger who could be linked to the man in custody."

"The man with the knife had said he wanted to divert the aircraft to another destination, but we have no other details," he said.

"Actually, the incident did not develop into a full scale hijacking because the crew managed to overpower the man before he got to the cockpit," Razi said.

He said the aircraft, which was at the Male International airport would take off for its final destination in the Seychelles as scheduled.