Wellyn Airport Crisis

[EEL123]

OOC: Due to its nature, this RP will progress in real time, beginning at 8:52 am, Dranish Western Time. GMT+12 or GMT-12 will be aligned with Dranish Western Time. GMT-11 will be aligned with Dranish Eastern Time, and GMT-10 will be aligned with Hulstrian and Gao-Soton time. Please specify which of the three time zones you will be using at the beginning of your post, and remain consistent, unless you clearly mark out the change in time zone.

[EEL123]

July is the beginning of the Dranish holiday season: workers down tools, shops close, and schoolchildren escape the classroom. Thousands of citizens hurry to head down south to escape the Dranish summer chill (imagine, then, the winter temperatures), hoping to enjoy a holiday in warmer regions with a more benign climate.

Among the most popular destinations is Hulstria and Gao-Soto, which has now recovered from the chaos of the revolution and is now once more a magnet for tourists across the world. It boasts of cultural marvels including the capital Kien, the nation's historic crown jewel, contrasted with shining and cosmopolitan modern metropolises; wide beaches of glittering white sand fringing the blue sea; and the breathtaking scenic mountain views in the far east.

At this time of year, Iglesia Mayor International Airport, Dranland's busiest, bustles with constant activity. Today, July 14, sees several aircraft sitting on the tarmac, preparing to take off and carry their passengers to Kien. Among them are Dranair Flight 11 (DR11), a popular route for Dranland's unofficial flag carrier, and Air Hulstria Flight 37 (AH37), among the first of the young and fast-growing budget carrier's successful international services. Not to be bettered by its larger competitor, Dranish Airways Flight 19 (DA19) will also be flying from Iglesia Mayor to Kien this morning.

At the gates, anxious travellers wait to board these three planes at 8:55, 9:10 and 9:30 respectively. DR11 will be a packed flight as it always is, carrying 244 passengers and 29 crew, as is DA19, a smaller plane carrying 139 passengers and 16 crew. Being a budget airline, AH37 can afford to squeeze its passengers like sardines, allowing a small aircraft to carry 160 passengers and 10 crew. Most are Dranish holidaymakers, although about a third are Hulstrians returning home, and the rest come from a number of foreign nations.

At 9:10, boarding begins uneventfully on AH37. Meanwhile, at Terminal B's Gate 42, a Dranair spokesman apologises sufficiently profusely for the delay to make passengers more riled about the repeated broadcasts than the hold-up itself, offering the uncreative excuse of "a minor technical problem", and states that boarding should begin at around 9:15.

However, without further misadventure, all three flights are in the air within an hour. Two hours and twenty minutes after taking off, they will arrive in Kien. Especially given the pause in the normal high winds, and with experienced pilots in the cockpit, it's almost inconceivable that these flights could be anything but routine.

[EEL123]

11:11 am, Dranish Eastern Time

The Dranish National Aviation Authority (NAA) has declared that it has received information from Soloyango Area Control Centre in Elbian that multiple commercial airliners were hijacked over Dranish airspace. According to the NAA, at least two commercial airliners have been commandeered; there are several more suspected hijackings. There are obviously suspicions of co-ordination, and the finger of blame has been pointed at Kyo extremists who have been responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in Dranland during the past several years, although both the NAA and the National Police Department (NPD) have stated that they have no credible information as to the identity and affiliations of the perpetrators. Preliminary investigations are already beginning.

[EEL123]

11:41 am, Dranish Eastern Time

It has now been confirmed that Dranair Flight 11, Air Hulstria Flight 37 and Dranish Airways Flight 19 have been hijacked. The new pilots are apparently not responding to attempts to make radio contact, and the transponders have been turned off, meaning that Lamond and Southerland Area Control Centres in Kazulia are tracking the aircraft with primary radar. According to the NAA, the planes have taken an abrupt turn. They were originally following a route towards Kien, which is to the south-east of Iglesia Mayor. They are now traveling due east towards the sparsely-populated interior of the Dovani landmass. Their intended destination is not yet clear. The NAA has also stated that they believe that the hijackings were co-ordinated. However, the NAA has just released a document stating that it will not "speculate on the identity and motives of the perpetrators until further evidence is made available".

[Alain Delors]

12:05 PM, Dranish Eastern Time

After the hijacking of Dranair Flight 11, Air Hulstria Flight 37 and Dranish Airways Flight 19, Defence Minister of Dranland James Tanaka (GNP) was the first government official to respond to the allegedly terrorist actions, confirming in a TV address that he had personally ordered five bombers of the Dranish Air Force to chase down the abducted planes. "Even though we have not yet managed to gather sufficient information to determine the motives of the hijackers, we must respond swiftly and strongly to put an end to these criminal actions as soon as possible and to protect the victims of these abductions", he stated. Meanwhile, all major air traffic at the largest airports in Dranland has been halted after Interior Minister Herman Boxhall issued an according executive order. "We cannot say if there are more planes that, according to the terrorist plans, would be hijacked. In order not to put the travelers security at risk, we have shut down all flight activity for the time being", he sought to justify his decision.

[EEL123]

11:09 am, Dranish Western Time
02:09 am, Dranish Western Territorial Time

A group of approximately twenty or thirty armed men have stormed the small airport outside the town of Wellyn, in the Dranish Autonomous Region of North Dovani. This town has a population of approximately ten thousand. It is believed that this attack was to secure a landing strip for the hijacked aircraft. The attackers were heavily armed men wielding assault rifles and submachine-guns. They were also armed with grenades and machetes. Two security guards were killed during the assault on the airport, and all non-Gao-Shaowans were told to leave. The police have been bussing away those that have been released to a nearby town to ensure their safety. Other in the airport were taken hostage. Two unco-operative hostages have already been executed by the terrorists. The NPD has confirmed that the Brotherhood of Martyrs is responsible for the seizure of the airport and, by extension, the hijackings earlier this morning.

[Alain Delors]

12:23 PM, Dranish Eastern Time
3:23 AM, Dranish Western Territorial Time

As more and more details on the situation in Wellyn (DAR) are emerging via the news, Defence Minister Ishiro Tanaka has ordered the bombers that were sent out at his order to remain within Dranish borders for the time being. Tanaka said that "it seems like the terrorist are heavily armed, and we do not wish to expose our soldiers and the hostages to imminent danger." Meanwhile, Interior Minister Boxhall has sent police units to search all airports for potential remaining members of the terrorist group that co-ordinated the hijackings. "All travelers have been advised to stay inside the airport as long as the police is engaged in investigating the crime scene and getting hold of potential suspects", Boxhall explained in a press release. The Ministers also stated that they would consult with the DAR administration to co-ordinate joint measures to be taken against the terrorists who have barricaded themselves behind the walls of Wellyn Airport. DAR Defence Secretary Shoichi Takano has already announced that he would prepare to deploy special army forces to encircle the occupied airport.

[Aquinas]

12:30pm Dranish Eastern Time

Democratic Socialist Party leader Diego Barreto has told journalists he is "following the hijacking situation with very close and very grave concern". He has cancelled a planned trip to a trade union conference in Gogledd Pwynt, preferring to stay in the capital, Iglesia Mayor. Some are speculating that before long, concerned MPs may expect a minister to make a statement before Parliament on the developing crisis.

[Aquinas]

12:35pm Dranish Eastern Time

DSP backbencher MP Gyeong Dong has offered his "diplomatic services" to the government. "I do not justify what the hijackers are doing, but I do understand their point of view," he said. "I would be prepared to talk with them in order to try and get this crisis resolved as peacefully and bloodlessly as possible". It is not expected that government ministers will take this offer very seriously, since Dong has a reputation for political unreliability.

[Alain Delors]

12:45 PM, Dranish Eastern Time

Interior Minister Herman Boxhall has addressed Parliament in an urgent session to inform them about the government's response to the ongoing hijacking of three planes, with some of their passengers still held as hostages. "The police are currently conducting extensive investigations, including airport razzias to detect potential members of the terrorist group that was found responsible for abducting the planes. Clearly, it seems that they must have some administrative structures within Dranland if they were capable of planning their plot so thoroughly and precisely", he said. "We already know about the existence of radical Kyo networks within Dranland due to the information we retrieved from the investigation of earlier terrorist incidents, and will be using that knowledge to figure out the masterminds of these perfidious hijackings. Meanwhile, we will uphold the emergency measures that we have enacted in the light of the current situation, such as the lockdown of airports and the halting of air traffic", he concluded.