In 1969, Leila Khaled became the first woman to hijack an airplane when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) diverted TWA Flight 840 — originally en route from Rome to occupied Jaffa (“Tel Aviv”) — to Damascus.
Upon landing in Damascus, all passengers were released soon after, except six “Israeli” nationals; two of those remained until December in exchange for Syrian and Egyptian prisoners. The hijackers were detained briefly in Syria and released without charges by mid-October.
Source: Associated Press and the film Leila Khaled Hijacker (2006).
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