A former journalist admitted he falsely claimed planting bombs on a Turkish Airlines flight last month in order to attract publicity for his new book.

Zafer Alcan was detained after he claimed he planted explosive devices while he was traveling from the capital Ankara to Istanbul on June 7. Now he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Alcan, a retired journalist from state-run broadcaster TRT where he worked as a journalist and producer, was arrested on charges of hijacking when he told the flight staff to divert the plane to Romania's Bucharest.

An Istanbul prosecutor's office said in an indictment against Alcan that the 54-year-old defendant said in his testimony he sought to boost the sales of his latest book.

"I meant no harm to anyone. I simply wanted to attract attention so people would hear about my book," he said. Alcan will appear before a court in the coming days.