KLM Airlines Hijacked Plane & 89 Hours: A plane that took off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport wandered from one place to another with 264 people on board for about 89 hours, but no airport in any country was ready to allow landing. When this plane landed at Dubai Airport after wandering continuously for about three and a half days, everyone’s heart was about to burst after seeing the scene inside the flight. Actually, this matter started exactly 52 years ago. On November 25, 1973, KLM Airlines flight KL-861 took off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for Tokyo.
There were 264 people on board this plane, known as ‘Mississippi’, which included 247 passengers and 17 crew members. Initially everything seemed normal, but a few hours after takeoff everything changed. As soon as the plane reached the air space, three boys got up from their seats and walked in different directions. One turned his attention towards the rear pantry of the plane. The second one stopped in the passenger area and the third one entered the cockpit. After this, the three boys took out the pistols and hand grenades hidden inside their clothes and started waving them.
Hijacker said- Now our orders will be followed…
After hijacking the plane, all three identified themselves as members of the ‘Arab Youth Organization for the Liberation of Palestine’. The hijacker present in the cockpit pointed the pistol at the pilot’s forehead and said – Now our orders will be followed. He asked everyone to take the plane to Damascus Airport in Syria. We managed to land at the Damascus airport with difficulty, but could not stay there for long. After taking fuel from there, the plane took off again. After this the plane reached Nicosia (Cyprus), and then Tripoli (Libya). The story of Damascus was repeated everywhere. All countries were afraid that there might be a bomb in the plane.
The longest tussle in Malta
The longest tussle took place in Malta. The government of Malta was afraid of allowing the plane to land. Seeing this attitude of the Malta government, the hijackers threatened to blow up the plane with a bomb if landing was not given. At that time Malta’s Prime Minister Dom Mintoff himself entered the conversation. They talked on the phone for hours and finally the plane was allowed to land. The plane stopped in Malta for about 24 hours. Here the plane was refueled and some food was provided to the passengers. After this, the plane once again took off without any fixed destination. This time the hijackers reached Dubai with the plane.
The plane kept wandering for three and a half days
Even in Dubai, no country was ready to give shelter to the kidnappers. For 89 continuous hours i.e. about three and a half days, the plane remained stuck either in the air or in different airports. The fuel of this plane which was circling above Dubai Airport was continuously decreasing. The passengers were very tired, but the hijackers had a different kind of madness in their minds. Finally, after long talks in Dubai, the three youths agreed to lay down their arms. After this the plane was landed at Dubai Airport. He surrendered silently. After arresting the hijackers, security agencies entered the plane.
The longest hijacking at that time
The security officers were heartbroken after seeing the inside view. Be it men or women, children or elders, everyone was in a bad state due to crying. The body was completely exhausted from fatigue and the eyes had bulged out. The condition of the elderly and children present in the plane was the worst. Everyone had received only enough food in the last three and a half days to survive. The emergency team took all the passengers out of the plane safely and took them to the hospital for first aid. This hijacking, which took place on November 25, 1973, was one of the longest and most complex hijackings in the world.
Governments of five countries came together
This incident is also special because in this the governments of five different countries like Syria, Cyprus, Libya, Malta and United Arab Emirates had to work together. There was a lot of tension in the Middle East at that time, yet with diplomacy and patience everyone worked together to save the lives of the passengers. Ultimately, interrogation of the hijackers revealed that they did not want any kind of ransom, but rather they wanted to draw the world’s attention towards the Palestinian issue.
