Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 130

Flight 130 was a domestic scheduled service from Torslanda Airport in Gothenburg to Stockholm Arlanda Airport. On board were a crew of 4 and 86 passengers. A few minutes after the aircraft departed at 16:30, two of the hijackers made their way to the cockpit. They pointed their guns at a flight attendant and demanded that the aircraft divert to Bulltofta Airport in Malmö.[1] The pilots followed the orders.[5] The pilot released the hijacking alert at 16:51 and the aircraft landed at Bulltofta at 17:10.[6]

The incident was largely met with disbelief and laughter from the passengers and some of the flight attendants, as they thought it was an exercise. Passengers described two of the hijackers as calm and with a good comprehension of Swedish, while one was clearly nervous and did not understand Swedish. The hijackers calmly answered questions regarding the action and stated that they intended to have the ambassador's murderer released. They then started making references to the Munich massacre ten days earlier and hinted that a similar situation could arise in the aircraft.[7] Passengers described the hijackers as generally friendly.[8]

Once at Bulltofta the Croatians demanded the release of the seven Croatians sentenced after the attacks on the diplomatic missions. In addition, they required that they be allowed free passage out of Sweden for themselves and the prisoners. They made it clear that their intention was to detonate a bomb they had with them if the authorities did not meet their demands within eight hours.[5] At 17:30 one passenger was permitted to leave for medical reasons. At 17:45 the hijackers threatened to detonate their bomb as there were photographers on the runway. Another three passengers were released for medical reasons at 19:00.[6] The passengers were starved until about 20:00, when supplies of food and drink were provided to the aircraft.[8]

Lennart Geijer served as Minister of Justice during the incident

The police were informed of the hijacking at 16:55 and immediately scrambled troops to Bulltofta to deal with the situation. Organised by the police superintendent on duty in Malmö, a low-profile police action was ordered, where no police officer should attempt any offensive action without prior orders. Minister of Justice Lennart Geijer was alerted at 18:20. He was vacationing at his cabin in Ystad Municipality, located only kilometers from the airport, and was able to quickly arrive at the scene. Once briefed, he called a cabinet conference by alerting Prime Minister Olof Palme. Meanwhile, the National Police Board dispatched several of its members to the airport. Its leader, Carl Persson, joined the crisis cabinet. They decided to avoid the use of force and instead attempt to tire out the hijackers through extending negotiations.[5]

Bulltofta was partially evacuated and the international departure area was converted to an emergency ward. Ten busloads of stretchers and medical equipment were brought in and set up in case of a detonation. At 21:00 a SAS Douglas DC-9 departed Bromma with the SAS executive management along with a reserve crew for a DC-9. Half an hour later Lund University Hospital was put in full emergency preparedness. Additional food supplies were handed over at 22:00.[6]

The first major decision for the authorities was whether the prisoners should be released.[5] Palme gave the orders for preliminary release at 21:00.[6] The cabinet met at 22:00 and by 23:00 it had concluded that the prisoners were to be transported to Bulltofta as an intermediate measure. There were at the time rumors that the terrorists were Serbs who had the intention of murdering the Croatians once they were on board the aircraft. The cabinet therefore decided that the prisoners would only be let on board if they agreed to themselves, after consulting with the hijackers. However, the issue was complicated around midnight when the Bulltofta base of operations received a threat by telefax which threatened to kill Palme, Geijer and two other ministers if the prisoners were handed over.[9]

There were several instances of photographers and other making their way onto the runway. This irritated the hijackers and the runway was cleared. New attempts were made to reach the runway and new clearings were carried out. All other aviation activity at Bulltofta ceased at 23:55. Fifteen minutes later two more passengers were let off due to heart problems. One recovered quickly after receiving medication, while the other was sent to hospital. The prisoners arrived at the airport between 01:35 and 02:10,[9] having been transported by a Douglas DC-3 and two helicopters from their respective prisons.[10]

The prisoners were informed of the situation and the demands. At this time it was still not evident whether the two groups were friends or foes. As the only prisoner, Barešić stated at 02:12 that he was interested in letting the transaction take place without talking to the hijackers. Others talked to the hijackers, but they did not agree to the transfer. Barešić thereafter convinced all but one of them to accept the deal. Planning the practical aspects of the transaction was forcing the issue past the deadline. This was finalised at 03:02 when it was decided that the dissident would not be exchanged. Under command of Superintendent Lewijn, 30 passengers would be released after which two prisoners would be sent by police escort to the aircraft and let on board. This would be done three times until all passengers were safe and all willing prisoners aboard, with the cabin crew being let off in the last wave.[9]

The hijackers responded to the offer by demanding that all passengers be on board until all the prisoners were; otherwise the aircraft would be blown up. The police management was of the opinion that this was a valid threat. The cabinet was informed, and after considerations the police offered that half the hostages be released, then half the prisoners would be let on board and then the procedure repeated once more. The hijackers responded that they would accept that half the passengers be released when three prisoners were on board. After consultations this was accepted by the police.[11]

The first transaction took place at the agreed-upon time of 04:00. Three prisoners were let aboard the aircraft and 30 passengers were let out. The final three prisoners were let aboard at 04:05. However, the remaining passengers were kept on board and instead the hijackers demanded that the aircraft be fueled before any more releases. This was accepted by Geijer at 04:08. The situation was not well received by the cabinet. Also, the six new prisoners were able to take over command of the situation on the aircraft, replacing the weary hijackers. Refueling took place at 04:48. They then demanded one million Swedish krona to release further hostages. Negotiations followed, whereby the police argued that acquiring such amounts of cash would be difficult in the middle of the night, and the hijackers reduced their demand to half a million. The police further argued that a rested flight crew would be at the advantage of the hijackers.[11]

The county governor requested from the bank director of Kreditbanken for the money at 05:45, who responded that the money could be delivered at the earliest at 07:30. This was relayed to the hijackers at 06:56, who stated that they would continue to wait for the money. It arrived at 07:29 and negotiations started concerning how the money be handed over. The police demanded release of hostages first, which the hijackers refused. At the time the police were mostly concerned about the threat of the aircraft flying to a foreign location rather than it being blown up in Malmö. The engines were started up and departure procedures commenced. A new offer came from the hijackers and between 08:28 and 08:35 the exchange of passengers and money took place. None of the crew were released.[11]

The aircraft departed Sweden and headed for Spain. At 11:30 the pilot ask to land at Madrid–Barajas Airport. The aircraft landed and was surrounded by 200 police officers. An English-speaking technician, a Norwegian SAS employee and the airport's director were let aboard the aircraft, where they negotiated the release of the crew. After it was made clear that the Spanish authorities would not allow the plane to take off, the hijackers surrendered at 14:47.[11] When the aircraft was stormed and the hijackers arrested, the Spanish military police took care of the two bags of money. However, by the end of the action some of the money was not accounted for.[12]