There was insufficient fuel on board the plane to reach Paris, because the auxiliary power unit had been running since the hijackers took over the plane, so a refuelling stop was scheduled at Marseille Provence Airport. Delhemme confronted Yahia to find out whether he planned to blow up the aircraft between Algiers and Marseille. Yahia insisted that the plane would fly to Marseille, take on fuel, then fly to Paris for the press conference; reassured, Delhemme prepared for takeoff. In an interview, Delhemme suggested that the hijackers would probably have said this anyway to prevent the crew from taking action against them. Burgniard recalled that the hijackers, in the cockpit, seemed excited and "like kids".