Airport Shootings

1970 February 10th. Germany, Munich-Airport: three terrorists attacked El Al passengers in an airport transit bus en route from the airport building to the aircraft. With hand grenades and firearms, 1 passenger was killed and 11 were injured.

1972 May 30th. Israel, Tel Aviv Airport: three members of the radical Japanese Red Army (JRA) group arrived on Air France flight, and opened fire with automatic weapons in the arrival lounge, killing 26 people, 16 of them pilgrims from Puerto Rico, and injuring 78 others. One of the terrorists ran out of ammunition and was cut down by his companions. A second terrorist committed suicide by pulling the pin on a grenade and detonating it against his body. The third terrorist, Kozo Okamoto, was captured while attempting to flee the terminal.
Okamoto was the younger brother of Takedia Okamoto, one of the JRA terrorists who hijacked a Japan Airlines flight to North Korea in 1970. Kozo Okamoto was sentenced to life imprisonment in Israel, but was released in 1983 as part of a prisoner exchange with Palestinian militant factions. He reportedly dropped from sight in Beirut, and reportedly reunited with his former JRA comrades.

1973 December 17th. Italy, Rome Airport: five Palestinian terrorists began shooting as they pulled weapons from their luggage in the terminal lounge. Two people were killed there. The assailants then made their way to an American Airlines 707 preparing to take off for Beirut and Teheran. Hurling incendiary devices inside the aircraft, they killed all 29 people aboard and destroyed the plane. Next, they herded five Italian hostages into a Lufthansa jetliner and killed a sixth person, an Italian customs policeman, as he tried to escape. The plane, carrying the hostages, crew, and terrorists, took off and the pilot was ordered to head for Beirut. Lebanese officials refused to allow the plane to land, however, and it flew on to land in Athens..
In negotiations with Greek authorities, the group demanded the release of two Arab terrorists held since August 1973 for an attack on the Athens airport. (It is unclear whether the Greek government refused to release the terrorists or whether, after their release, the two Arabs refused to join the terrorists, as they were from a rival Palestinian group.)
In an effort to gain compliance with their demands, the terrorists killed one of the hostages and threw his body onto the tarmac before leaving Athens. The pilot had urged Greek authorities to meet the terrorists' demands, reporting that four other hostages had been killed. (He was unaware that it was a hoax designed to place more pressure on the Greek authorities.) The plane then flew to Damascus where it took on fuel and food during a two-hour stop. Later that day, after landing in Kuwait, the terrorists released their hostages in return for free passage to an unknown destination.

1985 December 27th. Italy, Rome, Leonardo da Vinci Airport: four terrorists entered the check-in area of El Al, TWA, and PanAm, and began firing with submachine guns and throwing grenades into the crowd; 14 people were killed (including 3 attackers), and 70 injured.