Owning the skies

I recent read the book The Skies Belong To Us about hijackings in the 1960’s and 1970’s in America. It was so fascinating! I was born in the late 1970’s and grew up flying. I remember when anyone could go through airport security and all the way up to the gate. At our local airport, I remember how each gate had it’s own individual scanner to go through. I remember being a teen, coming home from a conference in another state and walking off the plane to find my mother sitting at the gate having guessed that was the flight I was on because I hadn’t had time to call her ( from the old school payphone, with a calling card...) prior to take off.  I vaguely remember a few news stories about hijackings as a young child. I remember seeing passenger alert signs at airports listing a few airports in Africa that didn’t have passenger screenings and how those passengers could enter the air system. I know my dad saw some of those hijacked planes while at work as a mechanic at a major airport.

It was amazing to read about how many hijackings there actually were; how commonplace it had become. There were even multiple hijackings on the same day! And how poorly planned some of these attempts were- hijackings that required plane changes due to distance and airlines having to borrow planes from other airlines to accommodate. It was also amazing to read about how complicit the airlines were with it - caving to every demand and fighting against passenger screenings because they thought the passengers would revolt and stop flying. Little did they know... At one time one could simply arrive at the airport, board a plane, and then purchase a ticket once onboard. With no screening. Mind blown! At one point in the book it mentioned that one of the pilots being hijacked was upset- because he had just been hijacked the month (week?) before! I can’t even imagine flying in that kind of atmosphere. I guess knowing that the airlines would comply, at least the Americans- check out Operation Entebbe for the Israeli response- made it feel less dangerous and more like a minor annoyance. And possibly less angst inducing for the wives. I can’t even imagine.

Overall, it was a really interesting read, the story of one particular hijacking interspersed with the history of hijackings in general. It was easy to get through and definitely left a lasting impression.