Terrorists still see air travel as a target, so the US will keep a high threat designation to the industry, says US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Mr Chertoff said the orange, or high, threat level assigned to the airline sector — one level higher than the overall alert level for the United States — was based on a general assessment rather than a specific threat.
“We’ve seen again and again interest in this sector,” he said. He mentioned to an alleged British-based plot to blow up transatlantic flights using liquid explosives in 2006 and an attempted car bomb attack on Glasgow Airport last year.
“So people think of aviation not only in terms of the aircraft but the whole infrastructure including the airports,” he said.
More than six years after the 9-11 attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people, “there continues to be a focus on air travel as a target,” he said, adding the threat level was unlikely to be changed in the near future.
Chertoff, who warned last week that one of the biggest threats to US security could come from Europe, said European counter-terrorism authorities acknowledge their countries “are both a target and a platform” for militants.
Report by David Wilkening
