The Indian Airlines Flight IC 814 hijacking, commonly known as the Kandahar hijack, was a major aviation crisis that unfolded in December 1999 when an Indian Airlines flight traveling from Kathmandu to New Delhi was seized by five armed militants. The aircraft was forced to make multiple stops before finally landing in Kandahar, then under Taliban control. Over the course of seven tense days, passengers were held hostage while the hijackers demanded the release of several jailed militants. The situation drew global attention and placed immense pressure on the Indian government, which ultimately agreed to release three आतंकवादियों, including Masood Azhar, in exchange for the safe return of the hostages. The incident exposed serious gaps in aviation security and crisis response, and it remains one of the most controversial and significant hostage crises in India’s modern history.