Why has nobody successfully hijacked an El Al aircraft since 1968, despite El Al being one of the most targeted airlines in aviation history?
This documentary explores how Israel’s national airline transformed from a repainted military transport into what has been described as a security agency with wings.
We examine El Al’s layered security system, including armed sky marshals, reinforced cockpit doors, psychological passenger screening, decompression testing for suspicious luggage, and the C-MUSIC laser defense system carried beneath some Israeli aircraft.
The story also covers the 1968 El Al hijacking, the Dawson’s Field hijackings, the Anne-Marie Murphy suitcase bombing plot, El Al Flight 1862 over Amsterdam, Operation Solomon, the airline’s Sabbath shutdown, and its remarkable financial recovery.
In 2024, El Al reported a record profit of $541 million while continuing to operate under extraordinary security, geographic, religious, and geopolitical constraints.
Was El Al’s extreme security model the reason it survived, or did its unique role as Israel’s national lifeline make survival unavoidable?
Watch the full El Al aviation history documentary and decide.
