Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/767061
maltatoday, SATURDAY, 24 DECEMBER 2016 News 13 25 November 1973 – KLM Boeing 747 A hijacked KLM Boeing 747 Jumbo – flying from Amsterdam to Tokyo – arrived in Malta on 25 November 1973. Then Prime Minister Dom Mintoff launched a round of intensive negotiations with the three hijackers and per- suaded them to release 247 pas- sengers and eight air hostesses in return for fuel. Ironically, this was the first 747 to land in Malta, which was not considered to have a runway long enough to accom- modate that airplane model. 15 October 1979 – LAA Fokker F-27-600 The plane was hijacked during a domestic Libyan flight out of Tripoli. It was parked at Park 4 at the Luqa airport. The hijackers surrendered after a few hours and all 44 passengers were unharmed. 20 February 1983 – Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 A Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 727 was hijacked and diverted to Malta that Sunday. Prime Minis- ter Dom Mintoff once again led the negotiations for three days and convinced the two hijack- ers – officers in the Libyan Army – to release the 161 passengers unharmed. The hijackers surren- dered to local authorities. 24 November 1985 - EgyptAir Flight 648 EgyptAir Flight 648, a Boeing 737-200, was enroute to Cairo from Athens, with 98 passengers and crew, when it was hijacked by three Palestinian members of the Abu Nidal group. Malta at first refused the aircraft landing per- mission but the hijackers forced the pilot to land at Luqa Airport nonetheless. Maltese Prime Minister Kar- menu Mifsud Bonnici accepted the offer for an Egyptian Special Forces team, trained and led by US Delta Force members. When this Task Force 777 raided the plane, 54 of the 87 passengers still on board were killed, bring- ing the total of fatalities up to 60. HIJACKS IN MALTA • TIMELINE ABOUT THE AIRLINE Afriqiyah Airways was established in April 2001 and commenced scheduled services on 1 December that year (the name Afriqiyah comes from the Arabic word for African). The Italian airline Blue Panorama jointly set up the airline with the Libyan government, which wholly owns the company. The airline services a growing international network, covering routes from its base at Tripoli to 17 destinations in North, West, and Central Africa and the Middle East, as well as to European destinations such as Paris, Brussels, London, Rome, and Amsterdam. On 20 August, 2009 an Afriqiyah aircraft (registration 5A-IAY) – the private aircraft of Colonel Gaddafi – flew to Glasgow Airport to collect Abelbasset al-Megrahi (who had been convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing and released on compassionate grounds by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government). He was flown directly from Glasgow to Tripoli. As a consequence of the Libyan Civil War and the resulting no-fly zone over the country enforced by NATO, in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, all flight operations by Afriqiyah Airways were suspended on 17 March, 2011 until 3 July, 2012. On 19 December 2012, the airline unveiled its new livery, which features a white fuselage and black tailfin adorned with three blue stripes, representing the neck markings of the turtle dove. This design replaced the former livery with the 9.9.99 logo on its tailfin. The airline's hub, Tripoli International Airport, has been closed since 13 July, 2014 and Afriqiyah Airways currently operates a small route network out of Mitiga International Airport instead. On 16 December, one of the airline's Airbuses was fired upon while on the ground at Mitiga airport. Three days later, another aircraft was hit by gunfire. Company ownership Afriqiyah Airways is a subsidiary of the Libyan African Aviation Holding Company (LAAHC), which itself is owned by the Libyan National Social Fund, the Libyan National Investment Company, the Libya-Africa Investment Fund and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company; the airline is ultimately owned by the Libyan government. LAAHC is also the holding company for Libyan Airlines. On 1 November this year, a number of staff at the airline's head office in Tripoli took part in protests at the way the company is run, focussing in large part on its financial policies and the managerial style of the carrier's ebullient chairman, Abubaker Elfortia. Despite its 150 pilots and around 1,000 staff, Afriqiyah is a tightly run operation. Given the current problems in Libya and the difficulties of exchanging dinars for dollars and euros, the airline has been forced to concentrate on earning money abroad for it to survive. Pro-Gaddafi party The hijackers reportedly form part of a pro-Gaddafi group called al-Fateh al-Ga- dida, whose name is drawn from the 1969 revolution that saw the late colonel ascend to power in Libya. The hijackers had reportedly threatened to blow up the plane unless their demands were met. It is as yet unclear what their de- mands were and whether or not these de- mands have been met. The aeroplane, Afriqiyah Airbus A320, had departed Sabha in south-west Libya for Tripoli at 10:10am, but was instead diverted to Malta International Airport at 11:20am. After releasing the passengers, one of the hijackers briefly stood outside the plane with a green flag of Gaddafi's Libya. Libya's autocratic former leader was top- pled then killed in a 2011 uprising, but since then much of the country has slid into vio- lent chaos, with various tribes and factions vying to take control of the country and its vast oil resources. The country currently has three rival gov- ernments, including the UN-picked govern- ment of national accord (GNA) in Tripoli, the Islamist-dominated National Salvation government also based in the capital and an internationally recognized parliament based in Tobruk. Veteran army general Khalifa Haftar, who is aligned with the eastern parliament and government based in Tobruk also wields huge influence and currently controls huge swathes of eastern Libya, including major oil export facilities. The two hijackers are believed to be from Sabha, the capital of the southern region of Fezzan, a hotbed of support for the old re- gime. Last year, a number of pro-Gaddafi pro- tests in Sabha – where the green flag is not an uncommon sight – turned into armed clashes when armed groups aligned with the Tripoli government tried to stop them from taking place. How events unfolded The Airbus A320, operated by the state- owned airline Afriqiyah Airways, was hi- jacked on an internal route between Sabha and Tripoli. Just after 11:30am, Muscat announced in a tweet that he had been informed of a "po- tential hijack situation of a Libya internal flight diverted to Malta." Most news updates were provided by Muscat through Twitter, and he later an- nounced that the passengers would be re- leased just before 2pm. As the negotiations were ongoing, the air- port and the surrounding areas were sealed off and members of the security forces were on site controlling the situation. In a statement issued a few minutes with- in the unfolding saga, the Malta Interna- tional Airport said that there was "an unlaw- ful interference at the airport" and that all emergency teams were dispatched. MIA informed passengers in the depar- tures lounge that all flights had initially been cancelled or diverted until further notice. At 12.43pm, the airport informed passengers that airport operations had resumed. Luf- thansa and Ryanair flights left the airport shortly after. Flights leaving the MIA were delayed, while a number of flights scheduled to land at the airport in the afternoon were diverted to Catania. In a brief statement, the Maltese govern- ment said that Muscat had summoned the National Security Committee meeting to convene in Castille. The head of communications at the Prime Minister's office, Kurt Farrugia, tweeted at 1.15pm that Muscat had just spoken to Liby- an Prime Minister Faez al Serraj (GNA) who was in Malta for an official visit just a few days ago. The GNA's transport minister Milad Ma- toug – who has a home in Malta – is thought to have also been involved in the negotia- tions with the hijackers. jbalzan@mediatoday.com.mt A woman disemabarks from the plane as the four- hour stand-off comes to an end. Women and one infant were the first allowed out of the airplane by the hijackers. PHOTO by Chris Mangion. Below: Prime Minister Joseph Muscat addresses the media. With him are (L-R) ministers Edward Zammit Lewis, Carmelo Abela, George Vella and deputy PM Louis Grech, AFM commander Jeffrey Curmi, principal permanent secretary Mario Cutajar, chief of staff Keith Schembri, and Transport Malta executive chairman James Piscopo