[1][2] About three hours out of Bangkok, over the Arabian Sea, a number of Lebanese men armed with guns and hand grenades took control of the plane.

The hijackers forced the pilot to fly to Iran, where authorities initially refused the plane permission to land, but later acquiesced on learning it was running out of fuel.

The hijackers forced authorities to refuel the plane by threatening to take off with almost empty fuel tanks, and shooting at security officials.

[2] Officials from Cyprus and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) engaged in talks with the hijackers, resulting in the release of a hostage on 9 April.

[2] The hijackers also threatened to fly the plane into the Kuwaiti Royal Palace, and to carry out what they termed a "slow and quiet massacre" if the prisoners were not released.

[5] The plane was refueled and on 13 April took off again, this time heading for Algeria, which had given it permission to land there,[5] and the final week of the hijacking played itself out at Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers.

[3][7][8] Algeria – which had been a key player in the 1981 resolution of the Iran hostage crisis – began talks with the hijackers as soon as the plane touched down in Algiers.

[5] The aircraft was parked close to the terminal building, but was asked to move briefly as a security measure upon the arrival of a plane carrying Kenneth Kaunda, the president of Zambia.

"[9] Two of the remaining passengers subsequently spoke to the control tower at Algiers Airport urging the hijackers demands to be met or those still on board would be killed.

[11] On the same day one of the Kuwaiti Royals held aboard, Prince Fadhal al-Sabah, urged his country's government to release the prisoners.

[5] On 25 April, Time Magazine reported that many Middle East leaders had condemned the hijacking because it had shifted focus away from the Palestinian uprising against Israel that had commenced a few months earlier.

"[8] Passengers said the hijackers wiped surfaces clean of fingerprints, and removed other identifying evidence from the aircraft before the siege ended,[12] while pilot Captain Subhi Yousif told reporters he had been unaware of the deaths of the two Kuwaiti men until his release.