U.S. Activates Its Airline Hijacking Task Force

The State Department activated its airline hijacking task force Friday, hours after Muslim militants seized a TWA jetliner with 153 people aboard, most of them Americans. But harried U.S. officials admitted that their options are limited.

At the same time, the Federal Aviation Administration directed U.S. airlines flying international routes to increase screening of passengers and hand-carried baggage in response to the third Middle Eastern hijacking in as many days.

President Reagan was awakened early Friday and told about the hijacking of the jet, which was en route from Athens to Rome. Later, he told reporters during a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, “We’re doing everything we can do.” He would not elaborate.

U.S. Willing to Talk

State Department spokesman Bernard Kalb said the United States is prepared to talk to the hijackers if such negotiations seem likely to produce the release of the hostages. But he added, “It is not our policy to give in to terrorist demands.”

The hijackers had the plane flown first to Beirut and then to Algiers. Michael Newlin, U.S. ambassador to Algeria, was at the airport as long as the captive aircraft was in Algiers, but U.S. officials said he had not talked to the hijackers. The plane later returned to Beirut.

The duties of the State Department task force were not spelled out. “The United States is in touch with appropriate governments and various parties, seeking the release of the hostages,” Kalb said. “And the task force, obviously, is one of the nerve centers. But I cannot get involved in laying out the specific duties.”

Won’t Discuss Strategy

In hostage situations, governments usually are reluctant to discuss strategy because they do not want to alarm the hijackers. U.S. experts who have handled previous hijackings say it is vital for the safety of the hostages to avoid any action that might panic the captors into taking drastic action.

“The emphasis is on the safety of the hostages,” a U.S. official said.

The TWA plane was seized shortly after taking off from Athens airport on a flight to Rome. Although U.S. officials were reluctant to criticize the Greek government, security at Athens generally is considered to be lax.

Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) predicted renewed U.S. pressure on Middle Eastern and Mediterranean nations to increase airport security in the wake of the hijackings. A number of the hostages are from northern Illinois.

A Simon aide said, “From what we can tell, the State Department is actively pursuing all the leads it can.”

Stepped-Up Security

The FAA ordered stepped-up security precautions at U.S. international airports, especially those in New York and southern Florida.

FAA spokesman Dick Stafford said the agency telephoned major airlines to tell them “to stay on their toes about the precautions that they normally take.” The agency told the airlines to increase the screening of passengers and hand-carried luggage. Baggage checked at airline ticket counters is randomly X-rayed.

Stafford said that at the agency’s request, the airlines also will take some extra security precautions, but he would not spell them out.

At Pan American World Airways, spokesman James A. Arey said: “Obviously, when something like this happens, it calls for special security measures. We do not disclose what they are.” A hijacking, he added, underscores the need to review security precautions “to make sure what we have in place is adequate, efficient and effective.”

At Eastern Airlines, spokesman Dick McGraw said that “we will be especially vigilant” with security.

And another aviation official, who asked not to be identified, said, “Any hijacking makes the vulnerability of the system obvious.”