BBC Releases 'The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103' Trailer

Most people track the changes in how we fly as having begun in 2001. However, the real moment air travel forever went from some glamorous lifestyle to a security nightmare was 1988, when the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Up until that incident, taking flights hostage had never been more than a delay-inducing nuisance, as those who hijacked the plane usually just wanted to use it as a bribe to be allowed to escape whatever was pursuing them. However, the Lockerbie explosion changed that forever, once authorities put together that a bomb had been smuggled aboard in carry-on luggage and the timer fitted to a passenger.

This year will mark the 37th anniversary of the bombing, which might seem like an odd choice. However, the Sky series, Lockerbie: The Search for Truth, had been in the works for a long time, to the point of going dormant, only reviving after the BBC and Netflix teamed up for a miniseries of their own. Both were under the working title "Lockerbie," but neither used it, with the BBC and Netflix opting for a total rename of The Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.

Ironically, by releasing these series in 2025, both Sky and the BBC initially had a peg to hang their dramas on, as the new Lockerbie bombing trial, involving Abu Agila Masud, was scheduled to begin on May 12, 2025. However, for the BBC, events moved out from under it, as that trial was delayed in March, with no new date set.