Two gunmen from the Palestinian group Black September opened fire on travelers at Athens' Ellinikon Airport on August 5, 1973, killing five people and wounding 55 after mistaking a queue for a New York-bound flight for one heading to Tel Aviv.
The attack began shortly after 3 p.m. in the airport's departure lounge, where passengers on TWA Flight 881 to New York had lined up at gate 4 for a final check before being bused to their aircraft. Two young Palestinian men pulled out weapons, threw hand grenades into the crowd and began firing indiscriminately. Within seconds the hall descended into panic, with wounded travelers on the floor, shattered glass and passengers scrambling to escape.
Gunmen mistook the flight queue
The attackers were identified as Shafiq el-Arid, also known as Mohammed Zehoud, and Talat Khadouran, also known as Hussein Talat. Both were Jordanian nationals of Palestinian origin who, according to their own statements, belonged to the armed group Black September.
Their plan had been to attack passengers traveling to Israel and possibly seize an aircraft, but they confused the New York flight's queue with the one for Tel Aviv. When they realized they risked being identified during the security check, they launched the attack.
The first three people killed were Gene Salandria, a 23-year-old American of Greek descent, Elbert Kersten, an American, and Wolfgang Uhlhofen, an Austrian. Fifty-five people were wounded, among them passengers, airport staff and police officers. Two more victims later died of their injuries, bringing the final death toll to five.
Two hours held hostage behind the bar
After the shooting, the two gunmen barricaded themselves behind the lounge's bar and held more than 30 people hostage. They demanded an aircraft to fly them to a country of their choosing and threatened to kill their captives.
Police sealed off the airport with large numbers of officers and opened negotiations. About two hours later, shortly after 5 p.m., the gunmen realized they were surrounded and surrendered.
Black September had become internationally known a year earlier through its attack on the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The Ellinikon assault came during a period when hijackings and airport attacks were being used to internationalize the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Death sentences and deportation to Libya
The two men were tried in January 1974 and sentenced to death. Their sentences were later commuted to life in prison, and in May of that year Greece's dictatorship government decided to deport them to Libya, a move that prompted a reaction from Israel.
The attack also carried lasting legal significance. Victims and their relatives sued TWA in United States courts, which ruled that the passengers had already been in the boarding process and that the airline was liable under the Warsaw Convention. The case, Day v. Trans World Airlines, became a landmark ruling on the limits of airline liability for attacks that occur inside airport terminals.
