Kuwait Airways Flight 422 was a Boeing 747 jumbo jet hijacked en route from Bangkok , Thailand , to Kuwait on 5 April 1988 , leading to a hostage crisis that lasted 16 days and encompassed three continents . The hijacking was carried out by several Lebanese guerillas who demanded the release of 17 Shi'ite Muslim prisoners being held by Kuwait for their role in the 1983 Kuwait bombings . During the incident the flight , initially forced to land in Iran , traveled from Mashhad in northeastern Iran to Larnaca , Cyprus , and finally to Algiers
1983 Kuwait bombings
1983 Kuwait bombings
Kuwait Airways Flight 422