Published on 18/12/2024 21:58
Reading time: 1min – video: 5min
A look back at an attack which left three dead and which could have been more deadly: the hostage-taking of the Air France flight linking Algiers to Paris by terrorists from the Armed Islamic Group, the GIA, 30 years ago.
The image went around the world: on December 26, 1994, the GIGN attacked an Air France Airbus held hostage for 54 hours. The passengers are all freed, and the twelve crew members emerge safely, but they will never forget this terrifying Christmas. Richard was a steward, at 20 and a student, it was a vacation job. He never wanted to talk about this episode. 30 years later, he comes out of his silence but wishes to remain discreet. This December 24, he was to go to Frankfurt. Change of schedule, finally, it’s Algiers.
Algeria is in the grip of civil war. The GIA, Armed Islamic Group, regularly attacks French nationals, particularly during the summer of 1994. Three gendarmes and two agents of the French embassy were assassinated. This December 24, at 11 a.m., in Algiers, a flight takes on its last passengers for Paris. Four men in police uniforms board before announcing that it is a hostage-taking.
Watch the full report in the video above
