The flight was operated by Afriqiyah Airways, Libya's state airline, and carried 111 passengers: 82 males, 28 females and one infant.

[3] The aircraft, carrying seven crew and 111 passengers,[3] had taken off from Sabha International Airport at 08:10 local time and was due to land at Tripoli at 09:20.

[5] Following the release of all passengers and crew, the hijackers, Suhah Mussa and Ahmed Ali, surrendered to the Maltese authorities and were taken into custody.

[8] On 2 December 2020, Suhah Mussa was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment and fined €9,990 after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.

Scenes of the real-life hostages exiting the Afriqiyah plane were filmed, edited and inserted in the movie, and producer Melvin Rotherberg qualified the event as a "blessing from the sky on a day of bad acting."