1971 Indian Airlines hijacking

1971 Indian Airlines hijacking

Hijacking summary
Date	30 January 1971
Summary	Aircraft hijacking
Site	Lahore, Pakistan
Survivors	All
Aircraft type	Fokker F27 Friendship
Aircraft name	Ganga
Operator	Indian Airlines

On 30 January 1971 an Indian Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft named Ganga flying from Srinagar to Jammu was hijacked by two Kashmiri separatists belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Hashim Qureshi and his cousin Ashraf Butt. It was flown to Lahore, Pakistan where the passengers and crew were released and the aircraft was burnt on 1 February 1971.

Ganga was one of the oldest aircraft in the Indian Airlines fleet and was already withdrawn from service but was re-inducted days before the hijacking.

India retaliated to the hijacking and subsequent burning of the aircraft by banning overflights by Pakistani aircraft. This overflight ban in the run up to the December 1971 war between the countries had a significant impact on troop movement into erstwhile East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.