The Terminal Or The Press

Let’s go back to my 1992 hijacker for an example of working together on an issue. The hijacker turned out to have two demands, and only two demands. Number one, he wanted to surrender at the Lufthansa terminal. And number two, he wanted no media around.

Now the commander had zero problem with number two. In fact, he wanted nobody around for the surrender. Heck, if it were possible, we wouldn’t even have had cops there—anybody close enough to see what’s going on is close enough to get hurt. But the Lufthansa terminal was a problem, basically because it would be very difficult to keep innocent people away and guarantee that they wouldn’t be hurt. We could evacuate it, but even so, a surrender there would be much more dangerous than in an isolated area elsewhere on the airport complex.

So what do I do?

I get on the line and I say, “Jack, I’ve been working on the issues you requested, and we have a small problem I need to discuss with you. The international terminal is so large that it would be impossible to keep all the press away. I may have a solution, though, if you want to hear it. Maybe we can work it out.”

“Let me hear it.”

“There’s a VIP area that the president uses and people like that. We can guarantee that there would be no press there. What about it?”

He thought about it for a few minutes, then warned me that I better not be planning a trick. I assured him that I was keeping my end of the bargain. He thought about it for a few seconds more—and let me tell you, those few seconds seemed like hours—and then agreed.