Narrative:Afriqiyah Airways flight 209, an Airbus A320, was en route from Sebha to Tripoli, Libya when it was hijacked. Two hijackers, claiming to be armed with a hand grenade, demanded to be flown to Malta.
The aircraft landed on Malta-Luqa Airport's runway 31 at 11:32 local time and taxied onto runway 23. The aircraft stopped near the end of runway 23.
At 13:50 local time the hijackers began releasing passengers. At the end of the afternoon both hijackers surrendered.
The hijackers reportedly tried to draw attention to a new Libyan political party in favor of the former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
In December 2020, one of the hijackers was sentenced to a jail time of 25 years.
Classification:
Hijack
Sources:
»
Times of Malta»
Flightradar24
Photos
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does
not display the exact flight path.
Distance from Sebha Airport to Tripoli International Airport as the crow flies is 640 km (400 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.