6 SEPTEMBER 1970
YOUR WORDS HAVE REACHED MY EARS1
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine increases the stakes by turning skyjacking into a worldwide political phenomenon and making Palestine into a household name. The Six-Day War leaves thousands of Palestinians homeless and without a voice. The impact of previous televised hijacks is not lost on the PFLP. In skyjacking, they see a weapon with which to make their cause known to an international audience. The strategy is simple: turn your cause into prime time. The method: hold passengers hostage in full view of TV cameras and negotiate with political authorities while the world watches. The stage is then set for the most daring plot in the history of civil aviation: Skyjack Sunday Over Europe!
A total of five planes are hijacked with “Revolution Airstrip” in the Jordanian desert as destination. The demand: the release of imprisoned PFLP commandos. Two jets make it to the desert, the 3rd jet is blown up on Cairo runway. The 4th plane hijack is foiled and two-time hijacker Leila Khaled is captured. A 5th plane is seized—the new demand: Khaled’s release. The Times proclaims 1970 as “Year of the Hijacker”.