Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206

Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 206 was a Garuda Indonesia flight that was hijacked on 28 March 1981, by the Komando Jihad in Indonesia. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 plane PK-GNJ was hijacked on a domestic flight and forced to land at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The hijackers demanded the release of their confederates from Indonesian jails and issued other demands. Three days later, the aircraft was stormed by Kopassus special forces unit that specializes in counterterrorism and hostage rescue. In the ensuing operation, all five hijackers were killed, while the pilot and one Kopassus operative were fatally wounded. All passengers were rescued.

Incident

The McDonnell Douglas DC-9, named Woyla, was scheduled to take off from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Saturday morning, 28 March 1981. The pilot was Captain Herman Rante. The plane departed Kemayoran Airport in Jakarta at 08:00 and was scheduled to arrive at Polonia International Airport in Medan, North Sumatra, at 10:55. After take-off, five men with revolvers stood up from their seats. Some pointed their guns at the pilot, while others patrolled the aisle, monitoring passengers. They demanded the pilot fly to Colombo, Sri Lanka, but the plane did not have enough fuel, so they refueled at Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas, Malaysia. When they were refueling, the hijackers removed an older woman, Hulda Panjaitan from the plane, due to her emotional state. Subsequently, the plane took off and landed at Don Mueang Airport in Bangkok. Once there, the hijackers read out their demands. The primary demand was the release of 80 individuals recently imprisoned in Indonesia following the "Cicendo Event" two weeks earlier, where Islamists attacked a police station in the Cicendo sub-district of Bandung. The hijackers also demanded $1.5 million USD, that Adam Malik be suspended from the post of Vice President of Indonesia, and that every Israeli be deported from Indonesia. They also specified the release of one of their comrades at a secret location. The hijackers told Thai police to deliver their demands to the Indonesian government, and threatened to blow up the plane with all the passengers and crew aboard if their demands were not met.