The 1978 siege of Larnaca Airport was a significant diplomatic crisis between Egypt and Cyprus, detailed in a report this week by the Famagusta Gazette.
The incident began when two terrorists hijacked a Cypriot airliner, taking hostages and demanding transportation to Larnaca International Airport.
On February 19, 1978, Yusuf Sibai, an Egyptian newspaper editor and a close friend of President Anwar Sadat, was assassinated by two gunmen at a convention in Nicosia.
Yousuif Sibai
The assassins captured 16 Arab delegates as hostages, including two PLO representatives and an Egyptian national.
They demanded transportation to Larnaca Airport and were provided with a Cyprus Airways Douglas DC-8 aircraft.
After negotiations with Cypriot authorities, the hijackers flew the aircraft out of Cyprus with 11 hostages and four crew members but were denied landing in multiple countries, forcing a return to Cyprus.
Among the hostages was a PLO aide, leading Yasser Arafat to offer assistance.
Cypriot President Spyros Kyprianou accepted, and a Force 17 squad was placed inside the terminal.
During negotiations, Egyptian special forces launched an unauthorized raid on Larnaca Airport, resulting in a gun battle with the Cypriot National Guard.
The exchange led to the deaths of at least ten Egyptian commandos.
The unauthorized assault caused a severe diplomatic fallout, with President Sadat declaring that Egypt no longer recognized Spyros Kyprianou as President of Cyprus.
The hostages were eventually released, and the hijackers surrendered, but the damage to Egypt-Cyprus relations was profound.