Tirana Hijack: Passenger Perspective
3.00am
until our 11.50pm flight home. We flight attendants did not reveal the real
checked into our rooms and hurriedly situation to us. It would definitely have
We were told that a new Turkish
made calls back home. There were caused panic amongst the passengers and
Airlines plane had been waiting to take
even reporters from our home may have sent the hijacker into a frenzy! And,
us since midnight but the Italian police
countries who were calling our rooms it certainly helps when you have friends by
were not ready to let us go. We were
for tele-interviews! your side, encouraging and looking out for
then brought to claim our checked
After a quick change, we had lunch at each other…
luggage and everything was opened up
the hotel’s restaurant. The General
for checks yet again.
Consul of the Philippines Embassy
turned up to assist us which was a
4.30am
great benefit.
We finally boarded our flight back to
2.00pm
Istanbul. It felt a little eerie to be back in
an aircraft cabin.
After lunch, we had just enough time for
four hours of sightseeing! The three of us
5.40am
set out to see Istanbul. We saw the Blue
Mosque, the street bazaar during
TAKEOFF! We tried to catch as much
Ramadan and bought a lot of souvenirs.
sleep as we could on the short flight.
7.30pm
7.00am
The General Consul met us again for
We landed. Istanbul was as beautiful as I’d
dinner. It was then we learnt that, whilst
remembered when I’d first arrived there
en route to Italy, two fighter jets had been
on my way to Albania. I love airports in the
escorting our plane with permission to
morning. There’s something so fresh yet
shoot it down should there have been any
so sad about them. Except that this time,
more threats.
there was also a sense of insecurity when
we found the arrivals hall lined with police.
12.00 Midnight
Once again, our passports were taken
from us and flight details recorded to
Back in the enclosed space of a flight
arrange for new flights home. We’d missed
cabin, we hoped it would be a normal
our midnight connection to Singapore!
flight back to where the surroundings
were more familiar.
10.00am
7.00pm
Mia Tan photographed in Tirana, Albania
We were mobbed by the press the during the Miss Globe International
moment we stepped outside the customs
After a four-hour transit in Bangkok, we pageant
hall. There were hundreds of cameras,
touched down in Singapore 7pm on the
microphones, flashes going off like a
5th October. Again, all the local press Editorial Comment: As with other hostage-
tropical thunderstorm. Everyone was
were at the airport, waiting to interview taking incidents it is important to note
talking at the same time!
us. that hostages’ perspectives of time vary.
“Tell us about the hijack!” “How did you
We hugged and said our goodbyes to Whilst the timeline in this article may be
feel?” “Did you see the hijacker?” “Do you
Angie, Miss Malaysia, at the airport as her accurate, it should not be taken as being
have any footage?”
parents had arrived to take her home. the definitive one. Also, granted the
It was a 16-hour ordeal. Of course I’d
Jamie, Miss Philippines, stayed over at my nature of captivity, perspectives and
felt scared. Yes, I’d seen the hijacker but
home because her connecting flight back memories can also vary considerably.
had thought he was a technician. No, I
to Manila was at 9am the next morning. I Newspaper interviews with different
didn’t have footage.
took her around Singapore, trying out our passengers on TK 1476 tell different
Actually I did, but it seemed absolutely
local dishes and going souvenir shopping stories about the same hijacking. Even
suicidal to say I did. I thought the press
at a 24-hour mall before we finally got amongst crewmembers, memories differ.
would be crazy enough to snatch my bags
some sleep in the wee hours of the In interviewing the crew of Indian Airlines
and luggage.
morning. flight IC 814 back in 2000, I noted that,
“Why no footage! They are paying US
interviewed separately, the flight deck
$5000 per minute!”
When I read the papers in Singapore, I finally personnel had very different stories to
realised the truth about the hijacker and his tell. That is why such recollections are so
12.00 Noon
motives. I am just relieved to have lived to tell interesting and, indeed, important. The
the tale. various honest versions of the same
We arrived at the hotel Turkish
It was truly a blessing in disguise that we event just go to show how traumatic a
Airlines had arranged for us to have
didn’t understand the language and that the hijacking can be.
16 April 2007 Aviationsecurityinternational
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