Make the Skies SafefFrom Aircraft Hijacking...

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What is aircraft hijacking? Terrorism has made aircraft hijacking a serious threath. Who is to stop it and what are the consequenses? Read about the most recent developments in this area of crime.

Since the 9/11 incident, the urgency of the problem of aircraft hijacking has finally been recognized. In the past, aircraft hijacking was undertaken for the purpose of transportation. The hijackers would demand to be brought to a specified location, which is not the original destination of the aircraft. It was usually convicted criminals or escaped refugees who would carry out hijacking of this sort. In the United States, for instance, most of the planes that were hijacked were redirected to Cuba.

The New Aircraft Hijacking

But with the rise of terrorism, there is a new kind of aircraft hijacking which involves extortion. When this happens, there is a threat of harming the passengers or the crew on the plane. Instead of simply wanting to be taken to another destination, the new kind of aircraft hijacking is laden with political motives. They may ask that prisoners be released or money be granted to them in exchange for the freedom of all those onboard.

The recent motivation for airport hijacking has been for terrorism, where suicide bombers hijack the plane and then steer all the passengers to their death. Bombs may be planted inside the aircraft and no amount of negotiation can save those on the plane because the end goal will be to make a political statement with the demise of everyone. Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda have used aircraft hijacking to destroy important landmarks of the government of the United States to demonstrate their disagreement with the policies of colonialism and globalization.

Who’s Stopping Aircraft Hijacking

In the United States, the Transportation Security Administration is responsible for the regulation, control and monitoring of the overall safety of passengers on any kind of transportation. Airlines have also taken measures to ensure that everything is done to prevent aircraft hijackings from happening again. In commercial flights in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, there are air marshals on board for increased security. Aside from this, doors have been made bulletproof.

There is a new course of action for an aircraft that has been hijacked and is being steered towards another target, which could result in greater deaths. It has been decided that aircrafts may be shot down to reduce the number of casualties and to ensure that the goal of the hijackers is not successful. Some aircraft pilots may even have a gun in storage in the cockpit in case hijackers enter and they will need to protect themselves.

Suicide bombers who hijack planes cannot be prosecuted if they are killed in the incident but for those who are caught, especially with a thwarted attempt for hijacking, punishment will be severe. Stricter airport measures have had to be adopted to prevent aircraft hijacking. Every passenger on a commercial airline has to be screened before boarding and their luggage is checked extensively to ensure that there are no potential hijackers on board.