On Christmas Eve 1994, civil war raged in Algeria, North Africa. Because of missile threats, Air France did not force pilots to fly to Algiers; a few volunteered. Before noon, volunteer pilot, Captain Bernard Dhellemme waited for authorisation to take off from Houari Boumedienne Airport. Simultaneously, 4 men in blue Air Algerie police uniforms boarded Air France 5969, which was bound for Paris. They checked passports and claimed it was their job to do so, but the four were actually members of Groupe Islamique Arme (GIA), intent on hijacking the Air France Airbus 300 with detonating explosives. Originally, there were 220 passengers and 12 crew aboard. The Algerian authorities refused to let the elite French counter-terrorist unit, Groupe d' Intervention de la Gendarmie Nationale (GIGN) into Algeria and delayed take-off by blocking the Airbus 300 with parked vehicles and boarding stairs. Flight 8969 idled for 39 hours, constantly using fuel. The GIA freed 69 of the infirm, women with children and offered to free all Algerians. (The Algerians bravely remained on board to protect the French crew.) The terrorists allowed communication with only one individual, negotiator, Alain Gehin (also the Prefect of French Police) and only through pilot, Captain Bernard Dhellemme. Before the Algerian authorities finally ceased the shenanigans, moved their blockades and helped clear the Airbus to fly to Marseille, the French port city located across the Mediterranean Ocean where the plane (ostensibly) could be refueled to continue to Paris, the GIA killed 3 passengers. The Airbus landed in Marseille, on French soil, in the wee hours of Boxing Day and GIGN was lying in wait for the GIA. The entire nightmare in both countries spanned the course of approximately 54 hours and 20 minutes. Marseille Prefect of Police and Negotiator Alain Gehin.
—LA-Lawyer