In recollections on what happened at Luqa airport in November 1985, when the hijacked Egypt Air flight MS648 was destroyed with great loss of life, our main interest should be the role played by the Maltese authorities in the episode. I do not think that anyone can blame them for the way they dealt with the hijackers.

The handling of the attack on the plane is another matter though. Again, there is no doubt that the overwhelming fault lay with the Egyptian forces who attacked without specific permission, and in a manner that lacked professionalism. However, the Egyptians had recently blundered their way in Cyprus in another attack on a hijacked Egyptian aircraft, an incident that led to the breaking of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt.

This should have been an eye-opener and the decision of the Maltese authorities to deprive the Egyptian commandos of the US advisers who had accompanied them cannot be justified. Now that we learn that permission had, eventually, been given to the US Delta Force to intervene, the continued isolation of the American advisers becomes inexplicable as well. Equally inexplicable was the news item, quoting a reliable but unidentified official source, broadcast by Xandir Malta, that Maltese soldiers had stormed the plane successfully with one or two casualties.

When shall we know the whole truth of what went on at the control tower of Luqa airport?