Earlier, going from one country to another cost blood, sweat and tears of people as not only was it very tiring to go somewhere far away but also full of safety concerns. But the arrival of the aviation industry in the travelling sector eased the process of transportation. It enabled people to go around the globe within a few hours and also proved to be convenient. But every rose has its thorns. With the development of the airline sector, many new challenges and hurdles arose. One of them is hijacking aircrafts. Even with increased security and a better surveillance system, instances of aircraft hijacking have come up in the news in recent times.
In 2019, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 147 was hijacked by a male passenger; in May 2021, Ryanair Flight 4978 was forced to take a detour; and in July 2021 Ryan Air Services Cessna 208 was also hijacked. All these cases of aircraft hijacking raise a serious concern at a global level regarding the effectiveness of prevalent laws made to combat aircraft hijacking.
Understanding Aircraft Hijacking
According to Article 1 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970, any person who on board an aircraft in flight: (a) unlawfully, by force or threat thereof, or by any other form of intimidation, seizes, or exercises control of, that aircraft, or attempts to perform any such act, or (b) is an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform any such act commits an offence that is aircraft hijacking.
In simple terms, when a person or group of people tries to take control of an aircraft forcefully, without any lawful authority to get his or her demands fulfilled, he commits the offence of hijacking an aircraft. Not only does it put people’s lives in danger but also stirs up the peaceful environment of various countries as the government of several nations, their ministers, aviation authorities, and embassies get involved in such issues. It also creates a state of distress among the relatives of the victims and the native citizens of the affected countries. It has severe repercussions as it affects the economies of numerous nations, tarnishes their image on a world level raises concerns about the laws regarding the aviation sector
The acts of hijacking are motivated by various reasons. Some do it for the sake of money or to threaten someone for something petty, but this is rarely the matter in the case of hijacking aircraft. The driving force of such offences is generally political gains, the release of convicts or the spread of terrorism. The culprits of such acts often try to take advantage of the loopholes present in the security system to get to the aircraft. Once it takes off, they force the captain to fly at their discretion and in some cases, the hijackers themselves take control of the aircraft and make the passengers hostage to use them as bait to get their demands fulfilled.
Times when Aircrafts were Hijacked
The Golden Era of Hijacking
It refers to the time period when approximately 130 American planes were hijacked in around 4 years. Most of the planes that were hijacked were flying from US to Cuba or vice versa. In that time period, from 1968 to 1972, there were news of plane being hijacked almost every second week. The reasons for these hijacks were absurd. Some did it because they missed their family members from whom they had to part ways, some did it for the sake of money, some felt like doing something thrilling. Every bizarre reason that one could think of could be found to be the cause of these aircraft hijackings.
9/11 Terror Attacks
On 11 September 2001, four planes were crashed into landmark buildings of US. Small groups of hijackers took over four planes and crashed two of them into the North Tower and South Tower (twin towers) of World Trade Center in New York, third one was crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth was crashed into a field. These instances of terrorism lead to death of around 3000 native people.
Such incidents left governments of all the countries shook and opened their eyes regarding the loopholes in the security systems of aircrafts. To prevent this from happening, UN countries tried to come up with solution and their efforts resulted in the enactment of several conventions dealing with aircraft hijacking.
International Conventions for prevention of Hijacking
Before 1960s there were no laws on international level to combat aircraft hijacking which led to occurrence of various incidents of skyjacking. In an attempt to put an end to all such atrocities, a few conventions were signed on international level with the aim of preventing these instances of aircraft hijacking from happening again and again and protecting the passengers and crew on board from becoming a victim to these acts.
The Tokyo Convention, 1963
The Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft, also known as the Tokyo Convention, was the first convention to deal with the issue of skyjacking on international level. It gave provisions to deal with hijacking of aircraft. It was signed on 14 September 1963 but came in force on 4 December 1969.
Article 1(1) of the Tokyo convention states that this convention shall apply in respect of: (a) offences against penal law; (b) acts which, whether or not they are offences, may or do jeopardise the safety of the aircraft or of persons or property therein or which jeopardise good order and discipline on board.
According to the article 3 of the Tokyo convention, the country in which the aircraft is registered has jurisdiction over the acts and crime committed when the aircraft is in flight. To prevent any kind of violence or turbulence in plane, the captain was given the right of using force to counter such acts. The force could be exercised through someone else also (crew members or passengers) only when the captain has asked them to do so on his behalf. It was also mentioned in the convention that the nation in which the hijacked aircraft lands will be obliged to return the plane to the country to which it belonged and facilitate the journey of crew and passengers. However, this convention had many shortcomings, the major one was that it did not make aircraft hijacking an international crime and nor did it give clear cut definition of aircraft hijacking.
The Hague Convention, 1970
The Tokyo Convention performed poorly due to many loopholes and shortcomings present in it. Even after the convention came into force, instances of aircraft hijacking kept occurring without any deterrence. To fill the rift created by the Tokyo Convention, the Hague Convention, also known as Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, came into picture. It was formed in 1970 and came into force on 13 October 1971.
This convention gave provisions for punishing the hijackers and also gave the parties to convention jurisdiction over matters of aircraft hijacking. However, this convention was also subject to criticism as it overlooked factors of grave importance. It failed to consider that there may be external actors in hijacking of an aircraft and it did not include military aircrafts or the ones used in police services and customs. It also did not provide provisions for providing relief or compensation to the victims and their families.
The Montreal Convention, 1971
The Tokyo Convention and the Hague Convention were considered not to be apt to cover all aspects of aircraft hijacking and its prevention. To address the issues in which both these conventions were lacking, Montreal Convention, also known as the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation, was brought in effect. This convention was signed on 23 September 1971.
After looking at its provisions and comprehending them objectively, it can be said that it is extended version of the Hague convention because all the rules and provisions are almost similar (or same) with addition of a few new clauses. It has laid down provisions for giving deterring punishment to the hijackers.
Conclusion
Aviation industry plays a significant role in transportation sector. People rely on air transports for long journeys as it is fast and comfortable. But the incidents of aircraft hijacking have proved to be an obstacle in its development and progress. They disrupt peace, deter minds, and severely impact a country’s political and social situation.
Despite international efforts, governments’ measures to combat this issue have always been insufficient. The Tokyo, Hague, and Montreal Conventions’ efforts are appreciable but insufficient to prevent hijacking and protect passengers. If seen under the lens of practicality, these aren’t enough to prevent aircraft hijacking, protect the passengers and crew on board.Countries should unite to create or amend laws to prevent hijacking and address existing legal loopholes.
References
- Convention for the suppression of unlawful seizure of aircraft, signed at The Hague on 16 December 1970, Article 1, https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/conv2-english
- By Brendan I Koerner, How Hijackers Commandeered Over 130 American Planes-In 5 Years, the Wire, published on 18 June 2013
- By Patrick Jackson =, September 11 attacks: What happened on 9/11? – BBC News, published on 3 August 2021
- Article 1(1)- UN Treaty No. 10106, Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft, signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963, registered by the International Civil Aviation Organization on 22 December 1969
- Article 3- UN Treaty No. 10106, Convention on offences and certain other acts committed on board aircraft, signed at Tokyo on 14 September 1963, registered by the International Civil Aviation Organization on 22 December 1969
Submitted by Anshika Shekhawat, a 02nd Year Law Student at Dr BR Ambedkar National Law University, Sonepat.