Skyjacking and hostage-taking are typically aimed at achieving which goal?

Skyjacking and hostage-taking are often used by terrorists and criminal organizations to achieve specific political or ideological aims, and one prominent motivation for these acts is the demand for the release of incarcerated comrades. This tactic allows the perpetrators to leverage the hostages or the aircraft itself as bargaining tools in negotiations, specifically calling for the release of imprisoned members of their group or affiliated individuals. This approach can garner significant media attention, public sympathy, and can put pressure on governments to concede to their demands.

Capturing valuable assets may be a secondary goal, as hostages can sometimes represent a form of leverage but is not the primary aim of these extreme acts. Recruiting new members may happen indirectly as a result of increased visibility and notoriety, but it is not a direct aim of skyjacking or hostage-taking. Disrupting local economies revolves around broader goals of terror and civil disruption, but it does not specifically encapsulate the objective of the specific acts of skyjacking or hostage-taking.