As a state-owned airline, Interflug with its approximate 8,000 employees was under control of the National Defense Council, which held the supreme command of the East German armed forces. The majority of the pilots of Interflug were reserve officers of the National People's Army (and as such required to be members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany), and all of its aircraft could have been requisitioned for military purposes at any time.[3] Klaus Henkes, who became General Director of the airline in 1978, had previously served as General of the East German Air Force.[4] Applicants for the job of a flight attendant needed to be approved of by the Stasi, in order to assess their so-called political reliability, minimizing espionage and escape attempts in Western countries.