Witness talks of seven-hour ordeal on ‘besieged’ Tunisair jet

As passengers boarded a Tunisair jet at Tripoli's Mitiga airport last Saturday, a group of demonstrators surrounded the passenger aircraft delaying its take-off for around seven hours.

Among the passengers on board were two Maltese businessmen, who maintained constant contact with the Maltese foreign ministry throughout the ordeal. Alan Dimech, one of the entrepreneurs on board the jet, was among passengers who actually barricaded the door, preventing the demonstrators from boarding the plane.

"I had just boarded the plane and was placing my hand luggage in the overhead compartment when I noticed people rushing towards the plane," Dimech said. "The crew, in panic, shut the doors in order to prevent anyone else from boarding the plane."

Dimech said that by then, half the passengers had already boarded.

What started as a small number of demonstrators increased to a crowd of around 100: some waving Libyan flags, others holding placards in protest against Libya's post-Gaddafi authorities. 

"They tried to open the plane's door so we took it in turn to hold the door closed," Dimech said, as he described the fear felt by some of the older passengers.

"Initially they panicked, but eventually we all got used to the situation and waited to see what was going to happen."

He said the protesters were not violent and in reality wanted fellow wounded Libyans to be flown to Tunis for medical care.

"There was already one wounded person on board. It seemed they wanted more wounded persons flown to Tunis," he said

Last week, news media reported that a number of demonstrations broke out in Bani Walid, leading to the death of a number of former rebels.

Eventually, Libyan officials turned up at the airport to try and calm down the situation, including Libya's deputy Prime Minister Mustafa Abushagar and the police chief from Soug Al Jouma.

"They told us they were negotiating with the protesters to let us leave. It took them six hours to conclude the negotiations," Dimech said.

Despite the plane was becoming hot and stuffy as more time passed, the passengers did not risk opening the door of the jet, for fear of the demonstrators boarding the plane.

"But they were not acting violently, and I never feared for my life or thought I was in danger. From what I could see, the demonstrators were young and did not seem to be out of control."

As the hours passed slowly, the passengers got to know each other and relaxed as they realised they were not in danger.

"I was in contact with my family and this helped me quite a bit, though we were concerned the plane would be damaged," he said, adding the Maltese ambassador to Libya was in constant contact with them.

"He was supportive throughout the whole experience."

Seven hours later, the Tunisair jet took off, much to the relief of all passengers.