Second hijack attempt likely

Press, 21 May 1987, Page 1

Second hijack attempt likely

By

BRENDON BURNS

in Fiji

Another hijack attempt is likely in Fiji. Security sources said yesterday that the level of agitation in some sections of the local population was such that Tuesday’s seizing of TE 24 could be repeated. The sources said airport security could not be counted on to stop a trusted staff member from a hijack attempt. Amjad All’s 16 years of meticulously good service was an indicator of this, it was said.

While his seizing of the Air

New Zealand flight may well have been totally his own plan, the sources believed other people may have been aware that it was to be done.

The possibility of another hijack, which could involve any airline stopping at Nandi, was conveyed to Air New Zealand, the sources said. But Tuesday’s drama did not prevent people from using the Nandi terminal later that day and yesterday.

The escalation of violence and tension is hastening the departure of tourists and expatriates. Mr Tony Harris, an Auckland systems analyst living in Suva, was anxiously trying to get his

wife, Cindy, and daughter, Amanda, aged two, on any flight to New Zealand.

“Most certainly I am concerned for their safety, especially since we got word of the rioting in Suva,” he said. Mr Harris’s employer, the big Fijian company, Carpenters, had begun planning last week-end to send expatriates’ families home. He has chosen to stay on until the situation is clarified.

Hotels in Fiji have suffered many cancelled holiday and business bookings, particularly since the hijacking. As one resort manager said yesterday, “It’s disastrous.”