# Response Management to Unlawful Interference: Hijacking and Commander Powers

> Review State response duties after unlawful seizure, including aircraft detention exceptions and Tokyo Convention powers of the aircraft commander.

- **Subject:** 010 — Air Law
- **Section:** 010-12 — Security – Safeguarding International Civil Aviation against Acts of Unlawful Interference (ICAO Annex 17)
- **Topic code:** 010-12-05
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-03-27
- **Author:** Pablo Asensio Martínez
- **HTML version:** https://pilotsyllabus.com/en/air-law/security-safeguarding-international-civil-aviation-against-acts-of-unlawful-interference-icao-annex/management-of-response-to-acts-of-unlawful-interference/

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## Response to Unlawful Seizure (Hijacking)
When an aircraft subjected to an act of unlawful seizure lands in a Contracting State:

*   **Detention:** The State shall detain the aircraft on the ground **unless** its departure is necessitated by the overriding duty to protect human life.
*   **Assistance:** The State shall provide:
    *   Air navigation aids.
    *   Air traffic services (ATC).
    *   Permission to land.

## Tokyo Convention (Powers of the Aircraft Commander)
*   The aircraft commander may disembark any person who he believes has committed or is about to commit an act of unlawful interference.
*   May deliver to the competent authorities any person who has committed a serious act.

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