Posted on 6-1-2004
Air travellers face
years of chaos
The airline security alerts which have caused more than a dozen
delays and cancellations over the past 10 days could afflict
air travellers for years to come, the transport secretary, Alistair
Darling, warned yesterday.
Before BA's flight 223 from Heathrow to Washington was again
delayed for more than three hours for security checks last night,
Mr Darling said: "I fear that for many years to come, we
are going to be living in an age where there is going to be
a heightened state of alert. Sometimes it will be quite severe,
at other times perhaps less so.
"We are going to have to get used to increased security
at airports."
Speaking on BBC1's Breakfast with Frost, the minister refused
to discuss reports that US intelligence had picked up clues
from an informant and from internet chatter that al-Qaida terrorists
planned to use British, as well as French and Mexican, passenger
jets for coordinated suicide attacks on US targets using previously
unknown sympathisers settled in Britain and Europe.
He insisted that the decision to cancel the flights to the
US, as well as two to the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, was
justified on the basis of intelligence warnings.
But he acknowledged that intelligence on potential threats
was sketchy and sometimes inaccurate.
An official at the US homeland security department confirmed
there had been "very specific and credible concerns"
about the BA flights.
But the jittery response of US officials was demonstrated last
week when it emerged that among the suspected passengers on
six cancelled Air France flights to Los Angeles were a child,
an insurance agent from Wales and an elderly Chinese woman.
The decision to operate today's flight to Riyadh will be kept
under review until the last minute, BA said.
Yesterday extra security checks again delayed a BA flight from
London to Washington.
A BA spokesman said: "The delay has been caused by the
passing of some extra information to the US. They have requested
to be supplied with extra information about the flight for security
purposes before takeoff to Washington, the same as happened
yesterday."
Of the two cancelled flights to Washington, he said: "The
airline, at the end of the day, attaching a very, very high
premium on safety, acting on our advice, decided on the information
it had it would be better to cancel those two flights."
Echoing the concerns of transatlantic airlines and Balpa, the
British pilots' association, he said: "The first line of
defence, and the best possible thing you can do, is to stop
somebody or stop something that you are concerned about getting
on to an aeroplane."
BA223, a 747 jumbo jet carrying 225 passengers, left more than
three hours late on Saturday amid intense security, with armed
officers, sniffer dogs and Land Rovers parked outside Heathrow's
terminal four. "There may be a little turbulence,"
said Captain Ian Herve as he announced the much-awaited takeoff.
Then he added: "This is probably the safest aircraft over
the Atlantic tonight."
After the seven-hour flight, passengers applauded as the plane
touched down at Washington Dulles international airport at about
2.10am British time (9.10pm local).
One passenger, Joel Ginsburg, told WTTG-TV in Washington: "There
was a lot of security but we felt it was necessary due to the
sensitivity of what was going on here.
"The BA people were very good and reassured us the security
was tight as a drum and we were going to go for it."
Selected flights into the US are likely to have armed guards
in the near future on the insistence of the US authorities.
Despite weekend reports of an impasse, both airlines and the
pilots' association are resigned to deploying guards but they
are seeking more emphasis on the checking of passengers and
luggage before boarding.
"We accept the proposals in principle, but we want to
be satisfied that the use of air marshals will make the plane
safe to fly," a BA spokesman said.
The pilots' leaders, who have agreed a temporary arrangement
with Virgin Atlantic, will be discussing their plans today with
Mr Darling, but they remain convinced that armed guards would
make flying less safe.
|