EgyptAir Flight 648 was a regularly scheduled international flight between Athens Ellinikon International Airport (Greece) and Cairo International Airport (Egypt). On 23 November 1985, a Boeing 737-200 airliner, registered SU-AYH, servicing the flight was hijacked by the terrorist organization Abu Nidal. The subsequent raid on the aircraft by Egyptian troops killed 56 of the 86 passengers, 2 of the 3 hijackers and 2 of the 6 crew, making the hijacking of Flight 648 one of the deadliest such incidents in history.
Hijacking
On 23 November 1985, Flight 648 took off at 8 pm on its Athens-to-Cairo route. Ten minutes after takeoff, three Palestinian members of Abu Nidal hijacked the aircraft, the same group also responsible for the hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 a year later. The terrorists, declaring themselves to be Egyptian revolutionaries over the intercom, were heavily armed with guns and grenades.
The terrorists' leader, Salem Chakore, proceeded to check all passports while Omar Rezaq went to the cockpit to change the aircraft's course. At the same time, Chakore had the European, Australian, Israeli and American passengers sit in the front of the aircraft while the rest, including the Greeks and Egyptians were sent to the back. Chakore saw an Australian passenger, Tony Lyons (aged 36), holding a camera. Believing Lyons had taken a picture of him, Chakore took the camera and ripped the film out before slamming the camera into the wall. Chakore came up to an Egyptian Security Service agent, Methad Mustafa Kamal (aged 26), who reached into his coat as if to pull out his passport. Instead, he withdrew a handgun and opened fire, killing Chakore; he subsequently engaged in a shootout with the other hijacker, Bou Said Nar Al-din Mohammed (Nar Al-Din Bou Said). 19 shots were fired until Kamal and two flight attendants were wounded by Rezaq. In the exchange of fire the fuselage was punctured, causing a rapid depressurization. The aircraft was forced to descend to to allow the crew and passengers to breathe, with the oxygen masks deploying.
Libya was the original destination of the hijackers, but due to a lack of fuel, damage from the shootout and negative publicity, Malta was chosen. While approaching Malta the aircraft was running dangerously low on fuel, experiencing serious pressurization problems and carrying wounded passengers. However, Maltese authorities did not give permission for the aircraft to land; the Maltese government had previously refused permission to other hijacked aircraft, including on 23 September 1982 when an Alitalia aircraft was hijacked on its way to Italy. The EgyptAir 648 hijackers insisted, and forced the pilots Hani Galal and Imad Mounib (both aged 39) to land at Luqa Airport. As a last-ditch attempt to stop the landing, the runway lights were switched off, but the pilot managed to land the damaged aircraft safely.
Nationalities
Breakdown of passengers and crew by nationality as per New York Times. A notable passenger was actress Lupita Pallás, who, with her daughter Laila, were among the fatalities.
Standoff
At first, Maltese authorities were optimistic they could solve the crisis. Malta had good relations with the Arab world, and 12 years earlier had successfully resolved a potentially more serious situation when a KLM Boeing 747 landed there under similar circumstances (KLM Flight 861). The Maltese Prime Minister, Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, rushed to the airport's control tower and assumed responsibility for the negotiations.
The remaining two hijackers allowed medics and engineers to examine the injured and the damage to the plane, respectively. The medics confirmed that the lead hijacker, Salem Chakore, was dead while the sky marshal that killed him, Kamal, was still alive. In a rage, Omar Rezaq, who assumed command of the hijacking, shot Kamal again as he was led off the plane. Somehow, Kamal survived. The doctor told Rezaq the sky marshal was dead and was able to get him off the plane.