Business travellers divided over the use of sky marshals

Business travellers are divided over the use of armed sky marshals on UK-US flights to prevent terrorist attacks. Just over half of respondents to a security survey by business travel management company BTI UK were against deploying sky marshals on flights from the UK. Instead, business travellers argued for increased security measures on the ground, particularly at check-in. Half of those BTI clients asked agreed that flights should be delayed or cancelled as a result of a specific terrorist threat – a response which supports British Airways’ recent decision to ground certain flights to Washington and Saudi Arabia. Less than a third of people would prefer that a targeting flight took off with sky marshals on board. The poll of 200 corporate clients also found that less than 10% would cancel or make major changes to their travel plans due to security delays and disruption to flights to the US. Less than 3% would cancel travel plans completely as a result of security concerns relating to a specific US-bound flight. More than 76% said they would only make minor alternations to their schedule. Half of all clients said security delays would have no impact on their global travel plans, with the remainder expected to make only slight changes. BTI UK managing director Mike Platt said: “The clear message is that security concerns are not stopping clients from travelling on business. “There is a general acceptance that the world is a very different place since September 11 – the threat of terrorism is unlikely to go away and security alerts, with any resultant delays and disruptions, are now factored into individuals’ travel plans.” He called on all travel management companies to ensure they provide up to date advice and assistance “and help clients understand that the short term pain will result in long term gain with faster, more streamlined systems”. “We call on all parties to ensure that the correct processes and procedures are in place on the ground to ensure a safe travelling environment,” added Mr Platt. Report by Phil Davies