1978 Orly Airport attack

1978 Orly Airport attack
1978 Orly Airport attack
	class=notpageimage\| The attack site
Location	Orly Airport, Paris, France
Coordinates	48°43′24″N 2°22′46″E / 48.7233°N 2.3794°E
Date	20 May 1978; 46 years ago ; c. 3:00 pm
Attack type	Mass shooting
Deaths	2 civilians (+3 attackers)
Injured	5
Perpetrators	Palestinian nationalists

The 1978 Orly Airport attack was a shoot-out that took place on 20 May 1978 in the Paris Orly Airport, France as three terrorists armed with submachine guns opened fire at the El Al boarding gate.^[1]^[2]^[3] The terrorists were also reportedly carrying grenades and plastic explosives in the shoot-out that lasted for 25 minutes.^[4] Two people including one police officer were killed before the three terrorists were shot and killed by French police and Israeli security guards.^[1]^[2]^[3] Five people waiting to board a nearby Iberia flight to Malaga were wounded.^[5] The airport was evacuated for about three hours after the attack.^[5] According to Israeli sources the group behind the attack was a unit headed by Abu Nidal which cooperated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b "Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2003". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 20 December 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
^ ^a ^b Curtis, Michael (1986). The Middle East: A Reader. Transaction Publishers. p. 279. ISBN 9781412837798.
^ ^a ^b Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 193. ISBN 9781317474654.
^ "3 Terrorists Killed In Attack In Paris On El Al Passengers". The New York Times. 21 May 1978.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Passengers Onel Al Flight Credit Israeli Security Guards for Thwarting Terrorist Attack on Plane Pas". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 May 1978.

[ICT-1] "Terrorist Incidents against Jewish Communities and Israeli Citizens Abroad, 1968-2003". International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 20 December 2003. Archived from the original on 26 March 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2018.

[curtis-2] Curtis, Michael (1986). The Middle East: A Reader. Transaction Publishers. p. 279. ISBN 9781412837798.

[rubin-3] Rubin, Barry; Rubin, Judith Colp (2015). Chronologies of Modern Terrorism. Routledge. p. 193. ISBN 9781317474654.

[NYT-4] "3 Terrorists Killed In Attack In Paris On El Al Passengers". The New York Times. 21 May 1978.

[JTA-5] "Passengers Onel Al Flight Credit Israeli Security Guards for Thwarting Terrorist Attack on Plane Pas". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 22 May 1978.

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v t e Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1970s
Within Israel	Avivim school bus bombing^* (May 22, 1970) Lod Airport massacre (May 30, 1972) Kiryat Shmona massacre^* (April 11, 1974) Ma'alot massacre^* (May 15, 1974) Nahariya attack^* (June 24–25, 1974) Beit She'an attack (November 19, 1974) Savoy Hotel attack^* (March 6, 1975) Kfar Yuval hostage crisis^* (June 15, 1975) Zion Square refrigerator bombing (July 4, 1975) Coastal Road massacre^* (March 11, 1978) Nahariya massacre^* (April 22, 1979)
Gaza Strip	Murder of the Aroyo children (January 2, 1971)
Aircraft attacks and hijackings	Swissair Flight 330 (February 21, 1970) Olympic Airways Flight 255 hijacking (July 22, 1970) Dawson's Field hijackings (September 6–13, 1970) Lufthansa Flight 649 (February 22–23, 1972) Sabena Flight 571 (May 8, 1972) Lufthansa Flight 615 (October 29, 1972) Rome airport attacks and hijacking (December 17–18, 1973) TWA Flight 841 (September 8, 1974) Air France Flight 139 (June 27, 1976) Lufthansa Flight 181 (October 13–18, 1977)
Worldwide	Munich massacre (September 5–6, 1972) Israeli Bangkok embassy hostage crisis (December 28, 1972) Assassination of the Israeli attache in Washington (July 1, 1973) Schoenau ultimatum (September 28–29, 1973) Paris café attack (September 15, 1974) Orly Airport attacks (January, 1975) OPEC siege (December 21, 1975) Yeşilköy airport attack (August 11, 1976) Orly Airport attack (May 20, 1978) London bus attack (August 20, 1978)
^* Attacks launched from Lebanon 1960s 1980s